


Murder at the Ministry

by EliLeFey



Category: Severus Snape - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-04-13 16:21:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4528803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EliLeFey/pseuds/EliLeFey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>March 1978:  Takeshi Morgan is murdered at the Ministry</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> for some reason, I see Richard Belzer playing the role of the Faerie homicide investigator.

At the beginning of March, a warm front moved into the area, causing most of the students to begin to think of spring, distracting them from their studies. Eli was no exception and was having trouble concentrating on the texts she was translating for her research paper on the history of shapeshifting. Even the librarian kept sneaking looks out the window. Eli got up, stretched, and went to the window, opening it and sticking her head out. The librarian joined her. “Early spring,” she whispered.

Just then, the air seemed to be sucked out of the room, and the temperature dropped. Eli and the librarian felt ice creeping up their spines. Takeshi’s death fetch materialized in front of them. “Eli, my daughter, I didn’t move fast enough. They shot me in the back. It was the ones we suspected, you have all the information. You know where all the papers are. Make sure they get to the right people. The Black Turtles said that the attack in Tibet is about to begin. It will be bad. You must be strong, I won’t be there to help you. I know you’ll do what needs to be done, you will not fail in your mission. Your prince needs you. Make things right for those who don’t know any better.”

Simultaneously, his fetch appeared in the Transfiguration classroom, speaking to Minerva and Severus, and in Dumbledore’s office. As the fetch faded, Eli let out a wail of pure anguish and pain, ripped her robe off and ran out of the library, flying down the stairs. Yojimbo heard her cry and screamed, then leaped the fence of the enclosure at the gamekeeper’s cottage and ran to the castle entrance. Eli threw herself on his back and they galloped out the gate.

 

Albus hurried to the Transfiguration classroom, where Prof M shocked the students by hugging Severus tightly as she began to sob. “Class is dismissed,” she managed to say. The students filed out quickly and silently as Dumbledore arrived.

“Minerva, Severus, with me.” They went into Prof M’s office, and used floo powder to go to the farmhouse, arriving before Eli and Yojimbo. Everyone in the house was gathered in the front hall. All were sitting in stunned silence.

“They murdered my Takeshi, our beautiful boy, I saw it, Albus, shot him in the back, right in the Ministry … I saw it … we have to get his body out of there, Albus.”

“That’s what we’re here for. Minerva, Severus, when Eli gets here we will portkey to the Ministry. We will sit vigil with the body here and then the funeral on the Mountain will be held. Cordelia, my dearest, you stay here and see to the arrangements.'

The largest of the Azure Dragon junks, a five masted vessel, appeared on the lake and docked at the farm. A platoon of Dragons in full combat uniform leaped from the deck and ran to the gates, relieving the house and stable elves who had been securing the lane to the farm. Half of the unit ran to the house, arriving as Eli and Yojimbo galloped to the door. Nils took Yojimbo away, whispering in the horse’s ear. Eli ran to the house, threw herself at Great Grandmother’s feet.

“Go get in your uniform and bring your sword, Eli.” She leaped up and dashed to her loft, returning in a few minutes in uniform and fully armed. The squad of Dragons formed a circle around Eli, Albus, Severus, and Minerva, and everyone joined hands. Albus put one hand on Eli’s head and put other hand in his right hand pocket, and they were transported to the lobby of the Ministry.

Eli brandished Dyrnwyn at the astonished Aurors and Ministry officials. “I come for the body of my father, Takeshi Morgan, murdered by one of your own. Stand aside.”

One of the Aurors yelled, “You can’t bring that sword here!”

“Come take it from me, then. You would challenge Dyrnwyn, when someone in the Ministry used a gun to shoot my father in the back? Begone. Don’t anger me. Make yourself useful, go find which of your comrades did this.”

All of the Dragons presented their arms. They marched to the body, where Eli and Minerva gently turned him over, revealing the gaping exit wound, bright red against the black clothing. The leader of the squad removed his cape and draped it over the body, so only Takeshi’s face was exposed. Albus stroked his cheek. “Our beautiful boy.” A tear fell on Takeshi’s forehead.

The Dragon commander turned to the Aurors. “Let me clean up your mess for you,” and took out his wand, pointed to the pool of blood, which was transformed into a shower of red poppies that fell into the fountain, turning the water to blood.

The group huddled around the Takeshi’s body, and everyone put a hand on him. Albus put his hand on Eli’s head, and put his other hand in his left side pocket. They transported to the front yard of the farmhouse. Albus levitated Takeshi and the group walked with Takeshi , where he placed on a table set up in front of the fireplace. A tall, gaunt Faerie with iron grey hair bowed to the group and then examined the body carefully. He placed his hands on Takeshi’s head and shut his eyes. “He’s taking a report,” Eli told Severus and Minerva. “He’s the homicide investigator. Those two in white robes are going to get the autopsy done.'

The investigator went to Eli first, holding a vial to her eye. She shut her eyes and a tear formed, which was sucked into the vial. He did the same to everyone who had been at the Ministry, including Severus. “He took our statements, what we saw, heard, smelled, and felt.”

“He’s a necromancer, isn’t he?”

“Of course. How could he investigate a murder if he wasn’t?”

 

The Minister and a pack of his closest minions had arrived at the gates and were arguing with the Dragons, who refused them entrance. “You can’t stop me, I’m the Minister!”

“Uh, chief, yes, they can. Don’t you remember the treaty we signed three months ago? Cordelia Morgan signed the property to the Fey, so Hillgate Farm is now an official embassy of Faerie, with complete rights of extraterritoriality and no reciprocity. You agreed to it for neutrality by the Fey in all conflicts, wars, and insurgencies, from within or without …, Jeanne-Marie le Fey is now the owner with Cordelia as proxy, and we have no jurisdiction over the Fey … especially here. We’d better go, chief. Faeries can play pretty rough.”

“Damned Druid lawyers, I knew I shouldn’t trust them,” huffed the Minister as he went back to his limo and departed.

 

The investigators bowed deeply to the family members and went to the gateway home to file their reports. The senior Morgan family members and Tabby took the body to wash it and dress it. Everyone was handed a paper wrapped bundle with a mourning kimono to wear. Minerva gathered Eli and Severus in her arms. “Albus and I will stay to sit vigil with you and the rest of the family.”

An owl fluttered in and perched on Albus’s shoulder, and put a note in his hand. “It’s from Horace; wants to know when we’ll be back and what to say to the students who saw the fetch.” He conjured a quill and quickly scribbled, “junk leaves at dawn, be at Hogsmeade dock if you wish to attend funeral, inform staff, cancel all classes tomorrow, close library. Use own judgment on what to say to students” He gave the note back to the owl, and it fluttered off.

 

 

The door opened and a delegation from Faerie arrived. The Triad, Maiden, Mother, and Crone, were joined by the head of the Druids, Ovates and Bards. A squad of nine Faerie soldiers who had escorted them marched to the gateway to help the Dragons already posted. Residents of Hogsmeade were arriving and a tent was set up in the yard for the overflow crowd. All brought flowers, food, and drink to share. Musicians from both realms began to set up their instruments to play. Takeshi was brought back dressed in kimono and placed in the simple coffin on the table. People began to file past the coffin, most leaving a white flower.

After consulting with Albus, Minerva returned to Hogswart to collect Alice, Vivienne and Eleutheria. Albus apparated to Spinner’s End to fetch Eileen Snape, who was given a kimono to wear and invited to sit next to Emerald on the sofa, with Severus and the girls huddled at their feet, arms around each other.

 

After Eli left campus and the news filtered throughout the school, professors who had known Takeshi all dismissed their classes and congregated in the music studio, where Prof F was playing recordings of his music. Prof S, sobbing inconsolably, set up an altar with pictures, flowers, and incense. The house elves set up a buffet table and paid their respects. Cambridge, the senior elf, asked to be allowed to represent the Hogswart Elves at the funeral. “The Morgans have always been the defenders of elfkind, and we remember him fondly.”

“We leave before first light, the ship to Torayama leaves at dawn, those of us who want to attend the funeral are welcome, be at the boathouse by 4:30 or apparate in time to catch the ship.”

Before first light, a procession formed. An honor guard of Azure Dragons in full dress uniform carried the coffin, with Takeshi’s swords on top. They were followed by family, friends, and staff from Hogwarts. As the sun broke the horizon, the vessel floated to the center of the lake and disappeared beneath the surface. The junk arrived at the harbor at the foot of Torayama, at the naval base.

The docks and the road to the shrine where the funeral pyre was waiting were lined with uniformed Guardians and residents paying their last respects to a son of the mountain. The Yokai who had trained him joined in the procession up the mountain.

Severus walked between Jeanne-Marie and Eli, who were both silent, heads bowed. Masumi led the rituals preparing the soul of Takeshi on his journey, and the pyre was lit. His swords were placed in the shrine in the place of honor by Katsumi. All of the Hogsmeade residents, the Hogwart’s staff and students except Albus and Severus returned to the junk before the fire was out, and were taken back to Hogsmeade.

Abeford stayed with Albus, both sitting next to Gwydion. When the fire was out and the bones picked by his sister, and his mother’s family, Emerald was given a silver box containing some of his remains, and a memorial stone.

 

The students at Hogwarts found signs in the commons room that announced that all classes were cancelled and the library would be closed for the day of the funeral. They went to breakfast, and there was only one professor at the High Table, Prof ? (DefDaArts) who told them that the staff members were attending the services for Takeshi Morgan and would not return until nightfall. Some of the students who had witnessed the fetch were sitting with Lily Evans, and somberly reading the coverage in the Daily Prophet, where it was the lead story. There was a large, full color picture of the fountain running blood, with the Minister and his minions standing next to it, with Lucius Malfoy making a dramatic gesture at an outline where the body had been. Students who knew Takeshi from his visits to music class and field trips to hear Muggle music sat with their heads down.

James Potter was reading the article, and pointed out the comment by Malfoy, that the crime was obviously committed by a Muggle, for only they would use a weapon as filthy as a firearm. “Or someone who wants to frame Muggles,” muttered Lupin. “Poor Eli. She’s just about to be dumped in a war zone and this had to happen to her. I never met him but everyone who did says he was a wonderful person.”

“Except Malfoy.”

“Remember the things Malfoy said about Takeshi when Eli thrashed him? Kind of odd Malfoy would be interviewed about his murder, since Malfoy hated him so much. Wonder why he was hanging around when the murder went down?”

 

Sirius Black sauntered into the Great Hall, whistling. “Ah, spring has sprung, love is in the air, and we’ve got the day off! Oh, thank you, who ever gave us the day off!“

Lily looked up and said, “How can you say that …” and ran off with her face in her hands.

“What did I say?” he asked.

“If you hadn’t cut class to go snogging with your townie girlfriend, you’d know what happened,” said James.

Lupin took the paper and threw it as hard as he could at Sirius’ face. He strode out of the room. Sirius’ smile drooped a bit as he looked at the lead article. He noticed that everyone in the room was glaring at him. He sat next to James and helped himself to some food. James got up without a word and left the Hall. Everyone at the table moved away from him.

 

James went to the Commons where Remus sat with Lily. “Let’s go to Hogsmeade, I’d like to get off campus for a while, and I don’t want to talk to Sirius at all today. Poor Eli. I never had anything against her. She’ll never believe it, but I admire her.”

Lily sniffled. “Have you noticed that she just ignores all the attacks on her, just laughs them off, but she gets really angry when anyone goes after Severus? That’s why she doesn’t like you, James. Maybe if you stopped it she’d change her mind about you.”

“A little too late for that, I’d say,” said Remus. “We ruined our chances to get to know her, and you can bet she’ll let all the Fey know what we did and we won’t get a chance to make it up, not to her, not to any of them. And it wasn’t just Severus she protected. I saw her go after those Slytherin creeps when they were picking on a first year Hufflepuff. It wasn’t pretty. She really hates bullies.”

“I’ve been told that a Faerie is a friend for life. Snape got lucky.”

“I wish I had a friend that loyal,” said Lupin.

 

When they went to the town, they noticed every business had a black bordered picture of Takeshi in the window, and some of the were closed so that the owners could attend the services at Torayama. They went to the pub where a spontaneous concert began, with local musicians and some of the students from Hogswart who had played with him when he visited Flitwick’s classes.

“He sure was loved,” said Lily.

“Yes, he was,” said James. “And he cared enough about Snape enough to send a fetch.”

“Poor Sev, he loved that man, wished he had been his father.”

“Too bad for Snape he wasn’t.”

 

Emerald lead the group of Faeries, along with Albus, Abeford, Cordelia, Eileen, Jeanne-Marie, Eli and Severus to the gateway to Avalon near the shrine. She called the mists and they passed through to Avalon. They walked to Takeshi’s flat, and there they all sat together in a circle, too exhausted to speak. Eileen and Abeford quietly began to distribute a change of clothes to the mourners, collecting the kimono and handing out the simple white robes of the Druids.

The High Priestess arrived with her assistants, and informed the group that there was an ongoing concert at the main temple. She asked that Takeshi’s guitars be brought to the service, to allow the kami to play. Eli picked up his Les Paul Black Shadow, Jeanne-Marie his Gibson ES-175, Severus his Fender Stratocaster, and Emerald his CF Gibson OM. They got into a waiting coach with the rest of the party and went to the temple. The guitars were place on a stage and the group sat together on low divans set on rugs with pillows on the floor. 

Eli and Severus curled at the feet of their mothers, and Severus gently stoked her hair and held her head on his shoulder as she cried. They were joined by Eli’s friends and relatives, who brought them food and drink. The guitars began to play, seemingly by themselves, as the kami revealed their presence. The Faerie musicians picked up on the themes and chords played by the guitars. More people arrived at the Temple, bringing blankets, rugs, and pillows.

Severus realized for the first time in his life, he was in a group of people who accepted and respected him. He felt them share his grief, allowing him to let the emotions flow freely. Slowly, his body relaxed, and he drifted in and out of dreaming as the music played. Takeshi appeared to him as he was when Severus first saw him, a tall, black haired man with black eyes, dressed in black. He felt Takeshi’s hand on his shoulder, and heard him say, “farewell, my son.”

One of the caregivers draped a blanket over the two of them, and they drifted along with the music until dawn. The doors on the east side of the Temple were opened and as the sun rose, everyone gathered turned to watch the light shine over the lake through the mists. The mourners walked out into the light. Eli and Severus followed Emerald, Eileen, Jeanne-Marie, Albus, and Abeford to the gateway. Emerald embraced each of them, bowed, blessed them, and turned to return to Takeshi’s flat.

 

The group returned to the Farm. Albus used the floo to return to Hogwart’s, Abeford to his pub, and the rest of the group drifted to the kitchen, where they sat at the large table with the house elves. After they had tried to eat what they could, Cordelia suggested a walk. They walked up a path that led along the stream to the spring halfway to the summit. They sat on stone benches nest to a pool forming the source of the stream.  

Cordelia was the first to speak. “I suppose someone should clear out the flat in London, bring his things back home. The lease is paid automatically from the Welsh trust fund, it’s convenient to Diagon Alley Might as well keep it so the Family can use it during the season.” Eileen spoke up. “Severus and I can help you.” He nodded. Jeanne-Marie said, “Of course Eli and I will join you. We’ll go tomorrow, after breakfast.” She got up to greet some cashmere goats who came to the spring to drink. Helgi led a group of horses down from the summit where they had been grazing.

“It’s so beautiful here,” Eileen said. “It’s my sanctuary,” replied Eli. “A place to stand down, to be safe. I don’t like this realm very much, I like being next to a gateway home when the shit hits the fan.” Jeanne-Marie nodded. “And now it’s ours, safe from the Ministry.”

 

 

 

Severus, Eileen, Jeanne-Marie and Eli brought the Gibson Flying V, with several demo tapes of songs Takeshi had written with them to Spinner’s End. Tobias was sitting in front of the fire, playing an acoustic guitar. There was a pile of cards on the dining room table, with a large arrangement of white chrysanthemums.

“I called up the studio when I got the news about Takeshi, and they had a memorial service. A bunch of old timers, a few of the younger ones, Rory Gallagher called, he’s on the road, told me to send his condolences, hopes to see you when he’s back. He told me that I should play again, since being old wasn’t bad if you are a bluesman. One of the engineers at the studio remembered me and gave me this.”

Eli noted how wasted the man looked, drained of all emotions, and from the redness of his eyes she knew he had been crying. “I’m sorry we couldn’t invite you to the services, but it’s that damned Statute of Secrecy, I hate that fucking law. I brought you Takeshi’s Flying V, he wanted you to have it, and recordings of the music he’d been working on. Rory was right, you should give it another go. There still is an audience for the blues, there always will be.”

Tobias set the guitar down. “When you’ve paid as much dues as I have you have a right to sing the blues. I’ve done a lot of things wrong, I made a lot of mistakes, I know. I hated your mother, thought she was the reason Takeshi left, but there was a lot more than that, I know. He never talked about his work with you magical people to me. I didn’t know. Eileen, I went after you only because of your connection with that part of his life, it was wrong of me. I never wanted a kid, and you were just so … so weird, Severus, so strange, you looked like me but you are nothing at all like me. I hated the way you looked at me, how you cringed when I got near you. I don’t know, Eli, maybe they should ban all contact with us Muggles, we never should have gotten together, Eileen.”

Eileen looked at Severus. “My son is the only good that ever came out of you, Tobias. I got together with you because I couldn’t have Takeshi, didn’t you figure that out yourself? I should have listened to my father, I never should have married you. I gave up my family, I gave up my magic.  I gave up my dancing because you didn’t like Severus dancing, you didn’t want me turning your son into a pouf, you said. Better that than to end up a tosser like you. It’s over, Tobias. We were never any good for each other. I wanted what I didn’t have when I was a child, parents who were married and stayed together, I wanted a big family of my own. The first time you hit me, I knew I’d never bring more children into this mess. Severus is of age, he’s got his own income, and it’s time for me to go. We’re here to pick up my things, I’m moving to London, I'm staying at the flat."

She and the other women went to the kitchen. Severus sat down on the sofa and looked at his father. He no longer feared the man. He felt a mixture of pity, disgust, and shame, seeing the sad, aging man. He understood how a lost dream and a broken heart could destroy a man. He wouldn’t be that weak, he would survive. His father had turned his back on life when he didn’t get his dream of being a rock star. He suddenly realized his obsession with Lily was similar. He had allowed his failure to win her to almost destroy his life, when he had Eli, he had the Fey and their magic. Tobias had driven his wife and son from himself, rather than take solace in having a family to love and be loved by. He knew he would always love Lily, despite her perfidy towards him, despite her alliance with one of the most despicable men he’d ever met. It was her life. He would live his.  He knew the pain of her rejection would never fade, it was the cost of loving her, and he always would love her.  He would always be there if she needed him.  Always.  As Eli would always be there for him.

 

The silence between them stretched into minutes. Finally Tobias spoke. “You turned out a lot better than I expected, Severus. Even found a family of rich women to take care of you.” Severus held back any expression of anger. “Are all the Faerie women so beautiful? I remember the first time I saw Emerald. Eli isn’t as pretty as her sister, but she’s a keeper, all right.” He stood up and looked around the room. “I always hated this this town, having to come back to the place I thought I’d escaped. The factories are all closed, there’s no work left. Can’t even sell this house, there’s no buyers.”

“Sell it to me. I can use it as my private library, keep all of Grandfather’s books here, it’s the perfect spot to keep them, no one would look here. We can get you enough money to start over, far away. Buy a pub where you can have a house band, Rory’s right, being old isn’t a problem when you’re playing the blues. I’m not going to pretend I’ll miss you.”

“Nor I, you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Eli didn’t want to go back to Hogwarts. She didn’t see any point in it, other than to make sure Severus wasn’t attacked again. She met him, as usual, for early breakfast. Then they went to Horace’s classroom, to work with him on the day’s lesson. Horace had set up an “honors” class for Eli and Severus, and they were joined by Eleutheria, Vivianne, and Alice, who found the company of the Marauders just as objectionable as Eli did.

She continued with the Runes study group, where the students knew her well enough not to mention anything about the murder. She did not return to the music room, and stopped playing altogether.

Everyone, including the horses, were in a state of deep mourning at the Farm.

Emerald moved into Takeshi’s place.

Eli wore her torn robe every day to class.  

Cordelia began the process of turning the Farm into an embassy.

A squad of Faerie soldiers and their horses were assigned guard duty. She leased space in the village to set up some of Nil’s students in a livery stable, with boarding facilities for students who had their own horses and riding lessons.

Construction began on a hospital at the entrance to the drive, and Jeanne-Marie assembled a staff of healers for all creatures.

Cordelia was looking forward to the new role she would be playing. She was the official representative of the Fey, for Jeanne-Marie, who switched to part time work at Beauxbatons, finishing up her research projects. The work she had to do kept her moving so her grief did not overwhelm her.

 

The family, including Eileen and Severus, went to spend the three days of the Equinox with Emerald in Avalon. They were all in deep mourning, and spent the time in his house, listening to his music. Faerie musicians he’d worked with played with his spirit playing his guitars. Severus dreamed of Takeshi, they all did. Sometimes their dreams meshed.

For the rest of the term, Eli and Severus worked hard on their independent study projects, and crammed for their NEWTs. Severus didn’t bother to hide the fact that he spent every night at the Farm with her. They did not go to Avalon for Beltane, instead they stayed at the Farm, watching the fire on the top of the hill from the window. This year’s party at the Farm was much smaller than usual, much more subdued.

When Yojimbo returned from his two week vacation [note: horses are given two weeks around Beltane for their own rites, unless there is active combat] with Black Jack. He’d missed Severus and Cordelia, and he and Yojimbo were close friends. The horses knew that Eli and Yojimbo would be in a war zone soon. The captain of the unit assigned to the embassy and his horse drilled Eli and her friends in combat training.

Alice and Severus both had a gift for it, and it was known to the Elders that both of these Terrans were needed in the struggle for dominance in Britain. The Crone had put her mark on them.

 

Lily and Remus both were pleased with how things were going. She knew that Sev would always carry a torch for her, but now he had someone to love him. He needed someone willing to face the darkness, she’d heard what Firenze had foreseen. She felt a lot less guilty at how she had been such a bitch to him.

It was sad that it took Takeshi’s murder for them to get so close, Remus felt. He had beaten down any feelings of jealousy he had towards Severus. He recognized Severus’s true worth, and admired him, knew he was destined to be with Eli. He hoped that in the future, they would meet and could become friends, someday, some way.

James would come around, once he grew up a bit. Sirius, poor Sirius, would not even look in Eli’s direction when she was around. The prescribed potions seemed to be working, Remus thought, he didn’t pick fights anymore and was actually tender and loving in their sex and play. For the first time ever, Sirius was studying. He wanted to do well on these final exams.

 

Against her wishes, Eli was convinced to attend the graduation ceremony. She had gotten the top scores on all of the NEWTs she had taken except Potions, where Severus had beaten her. She declined the honor of being named valedictorian, and asked that she not be mentioned at all in anyone’s speech. She did not want to be singled out for anything, she resented having to be there. “For the last five years most of those idiots treated me like a pariah dog. I don’t want them making a fuss over me because they feel bad about what happened to my father. I won’t miss most of ‘em and I won’t show up at any class reunions. I’m outta here. Like Shane. Gone for a soldier, to fight the daemons for you Terrans because you can’t.”

Albus and Minerva looked at her sadly as she said this to them. There had been a surge of pro-Faerie sentiment at the Ministry because of the war brewing, since every other magical jurisdiction was singing the praises of the Guardians, including the Fey, in their activity in the Rim of Fire.

The Hogwarts staff was attempting to compensate for the scathing report the College of Druids wrote about the school, and the Ministry, advising that no other Fey study there. Copies had been sent only to Hogwarts staff and the office of education in the Ministry, since the Fey did have some consideration for hurt feelings. The Ministry also was trying to use some serious spin control on Takeshi's murder and their inability to solve the crime, or unwillingness to name the perps, as some saw it, and were eager to make Eli the star of the show. 

 

Since Eli would not speak, each house was allowed to have a representative make a short speech at the graduation ceremony, and the awards presentation changed so that Eli would not be mentioned. The prizes had already been sent to the Farm. No one mentioned the omission of the first place finisher in most of the categories, they knew. Eli spent the ceremony sitting stiffly, with her face kept perfectly blank. She had asked her family not to attend, and planned on leaving immediately after the ceremony, skipping the reception afterwards.

When her name was called to get her diploma, she placed everyone in the audience under a silence spell. She did not want their applause, their acknowledgement; she just wanted this to be over with. When the Minister smiled at her and stood up, making a move to approach her, she turned her back on him and went back to her seat.  As soon as she could, left the Great Hall, followed by Severus and Eileen. They got in a waiting carriage, which sped off down the road. She did not look back.

The families of many of the graduates were disappointed that Eli did not attend the reception, but it was explained to them that it would be inappropriate for her to attend a party when in mourning.

 

The family was sailing with her to Torayama, where she would be joining her unit. Albus was aware he was not wanted and declined the pro forma invitation to come along. He joined the people and elves from Hogsmeade for a somber gathering to send off Eli with their blessings and charms, when the junk appeared on the lake to take Eli and her family and friends to the naval base at the foot of the mountain.

Lily and James were there, hidden beneath the cloak. Remus skulked at the edge of the crowd, with Sirius in his animagus form. They sat at the shore, watching the group get onboard and then to watch the vessel disappear. Remus repeated a prayer he’d heard his mother say when he was a child, to protect Eli.

Lily whispered, “If anything happens to her, poor Sev . .. “

“Nothing will happen to her, she’s a Faerie and they are really hard to kill, Firenze says,” said James.

“She’ll survive. Don’t you worry.  She's a natural born hero, ” added Sirius.

Remus laughed. “Sure took you long enough to realize that.”

Sirius put his arm around Remus. “I was jealous. Made me stupid.”

James looked across the lake. “I guess I must have gotten a few things wrong myself. Old Snape can’t be all that bad if she loves him.”

Lily was astounded at James’s admission. “Give them some time and maybe they can forgive us and we can be friends,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I have a lot to make up for, I never should have let you keep me from even talking to him. I guess … I guess I was wrong, I dumped him because he just wasn’t popular enough and you were. I have to live with that, how shallow I was.”

Sirius took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Remus’s tears away. “Everyone, come on, let’s go to my flat in London, and celebrate graduation!” Sirius said, jumping to his feet. He had rented a small place right off Nocturne Alley, within walking distance of his favorite bar, The Two Wizards. He found out about it indirectly from Eli, who told one of the few “out” students where and what it was. He’d even been to the back room.  He and Remus loved the place. The music was always great, and the crowd amusing and well dressed.

 

 

 


	3. White Wedding Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus and Eli go to Torayama, James and Lily get married

Lily and the Marauders went to Sirius’s flat after they watched Eli and Severus sail away. Lily’s girl friends had taken over the church where the ceremony would take place. Lily thought of an essay Eli had written, about the Wizarding world’s syncretic adoption and adaptation of European Christian tradition, since it was the actions of that cult that created the need for the separation of the magical world from the mundane world, after appropriating and redefining the original “pagan” traditions. It was cultural Cognitive Dissonance. She saw Eli’s point. She’d read up on some of the Old Believer’s traditions and liked the essential equality between partners, after all, in Christian trad, the couple was man and wife, the wife being essentially chattel. 

It was Roman law that took rights away from women. She recalled with a smile the quote from Cassius Dio, how Julia Domina, the wife of Emperor Severus, criticized the sexual morals of the women of Caledonia, with their Beltane rites, and the wife of the Caledonian chief Argentocoxos (her name was not recorded by the Romans, of course) replied, “We fulfill the demands of nature in a much better way than do you Roman women; for we consort openly with the best men, whereas you let yourselves be debauched in secret by the vilest.” 

She’d found out more about the Morgan women’s ban on marriage for females. Under current law, that was the only way they could keep the property under their control. The men were expected to marry the best possible mother for the next generation, which is what Cordelia’s son and grandson had done. Professor Slughorn had filled her in with all of the details about the lives of the Morgans he had known. 

Lily and James had written their own vows. They wanted to keep things simple and short in the church, and then celebrate with dancing and drinking at the mansion that was given over for the reception. They would jump the broom on James’s broom, he said he wanted to pick her up and fly away with her. So she decided she wanted to have a dress that would flutter like mist on the breeze, and with the help of Lilith’s mother, a noted designer working out of Paris, designed a dress made of layers of the sheerest, most translucent taffeta, with a train, of course, and a veil over a tiara of diamonds and tremblante tear shaped pearls. The bodice was beaded with tiny pearls, her veil a single layer of the silk taffeta, with crystal beading sparkling with inner light. The dress was waiting for her at the mansion, everything was ready, she’d simply turned over all of the details to the mothers of her friends who all wanted to be a part of the first wedding of the season. 

Eli and the Friends wrapped up their projects early. Since Takeshi’s death they hadn’t done anything except study and work on their experiments. They were finishing up their essays, and Horace and Pomona were writing up the results of their projects for publication. The professors, of course, got top billing as authors. Severus and the house elves had been taking apart the laboratory equipment and setting it up on Takeshi’s old room, which was a lot larger. On the wall facing the lake, there were French doors leading to a walkway along the parapet. He had a view of Hogwarts from there, often gazing at the castle and thinking of Lily.

He arranged for a wedding present to be delivered to the reception. It was a boxed set of some of his best healing potions, in cut crystal bottles, a folding desk set, made of ebony and green leather, imprinted in gold with a lily motif, and her new initials emblazoned on the linen paper, the rock crystal bottles of ink, the blotter made of silver. He included two swan’s feather quills, one black, one white. He sent along the smallest available training broom, with a note to James, to give it to his first born. 

“You can’t say he is not gracious in defeat,” Remus said, as he and Sirius were helping Lily get started on the thank you notes by making a list of the presents, “So thoughtful, proving you with what you needed today. “he sure gave you enough paper and envelopes.” 

Sirius laughed. “Well, Eli is one hell of a consolation prize, I’d say.”

Lily smiled. “Her family gave me these pearls, she found out I didn’t have a pearl necklace. It’s got a sapphire clasp, for ‘something blue.’” She touched the 18 inch strand of pearls that glowed against her skin. 

“James says he wants us all to go to Prague together, and you can start the honeymoon there. We’ve got a portkey, take us straight to the Institute. We can send an owl, ask about hotels nearby.” 

“That sounds like a great idea. Then we can bounce back and forth between the weddings in June. Quidditch and weddings, what a honeymoon we’ll have,” Lily said. “It’s my last night as a single woman, I have to go upstairs to the bridal suite, all my girl friends are waiting for me. We’re going to spend all day getting ready. Two of the local aurors are going to escort my parents to me, and they will ride with me in the carriage to the church.”

Remus took her hand. “I got a look at the marriage contract. You’re pretty much going to have to cut off your family, since they are Muggles. Sometimes I think Eli has a point about the Law, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. What they call collateral damage.”

 

Sirius spoke up. “Remus and I were of wizarding families, and we were dumped by them, I guess we’ll have to be our own family now. Stick together and help each other out. We’d better go to James and be with him. We will see you tomorrow, Lily.”

 

It was morning at Torayama. Severus woke when the sun rose. He went to the Inn’s kitchen and got a tray with breakfast for the two of them, he slept better with Eli in his bed. They would load up Yojimbo and BlackJack with Eli’s arsenal and supplies, after the horses finished their tuna sashimi, rice and steamed vegetables in a soy glaze, with hot green tea with Avalon honey. They would visit all of the Yokai on their way to the army base at the summit, and brought gifts of food, incense, and sake for them. 

 

Lily’s parents were picked up at their home by a Ministry limo, with Albus and Horace with the aurors assigned to them. They chatted about inoffensive topics on the trip to the mansion, and were greeted by Lily’s friends who led the parents to Lily’s suite. The girls gave them flowers to wear, as well as “traditional” formal robes for the ceremony itself, which was a pastiche of Ministry law and “Episcopagan” local religious tradition. James added his own touch, at the end when they walked down the aisle, he would pick her up, fly over the broom with her on his best broom, and lead a flyover of all of his friends, which would announce the beginning of the party that would last all day and all night.


	4. Summertime, and the living is easy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and James are now married, Remus and Sirius are getting treatment, Albus begins to understand the nature of the shitstorm approaching, as Tom Riddle assembles his forces. Eli is waiting to be deployed, training for the mission, waiting for the daemons to make their move. Severus is worried about everyone as more bad craziness begins to happen.

The ceremony was said to be one of the most glorious weddings anyone in attendance had seen. Lily was radiant, her hair like fire under the ice of the silk veil, glittering with diamonds and pearls in the borrowed tiara. At the end, James held her on his broom, leading the celebrants on a wild flight. The fliers picked up net bags full of flowers, various powders, their wands releasing butterflies and spells, the music began to play. James carried his bride around the village once, then landed on the balcony of the bridal suite, were Lily used her wand to conjure floating scented flowers. The house elves had done themselves proud with the food they presented, and all in attendance agreed they had never seen a more beautiful bride. When the sun dipped below the horizon the party moved indoors, taking over the entire building, other than the bridal suite, where Lily and James were left alone for the night. Albus and Horace departed with Lily’s parents. 

The next day the newly married couple came down to lunch dressing in traveling clothes. They were traveling light, with minimal luggage. James had promised to buy her new clothes in the fashion districts wherever they went. First Prague, then Paris, then Monaco, a series of ‘destination weddings’ for their school mates. After lunch Remus and Sirius joined them and activated the portkey, appearing at the hospital’s lobby. The staff had gotten them tickets to the ballet, and gave them directions to their hotel which was near the theater. 

“We’ll meet you at the performance, Sirius and I are going to settle in. We’ll be staying in the dorms. Isn’t this a beautiful place?” 

James and Lily took a horse drawn cab to their hotel where their luggage was already in their room. Lily took out the dancing dress and matching shoes she packed, an orchid silk sarong style dress. She wore a crystal beaded silver jacket, the pearl necklace, diamond and pearl earrings, her wedding ring and the emerald on her left hand. They sat with Sirius and Remus in the dress circle, then went dancing at the Palace, one of the oldest buildings in the magical quarter. In Prague no one cared about who danced with who, so Remus and Sirius danced together, in the light of the waxing moon. 

It would soon be time for Remus to test the new formulas. And there was a wedding in Paris, Lily was the maid of honor for her room mate’s wedding in the groom’s ancestral home. 

 

Severus stayed that summer with Eli, whose unit had been moved to the top of the mountain for advanced training. Cordelia stayed until midsummer, then returned to the Farm. Eli and Severus portkeyed every Sunday to join her for dinner, to stay in touch with the progress on the Embassy, and to keep track of the finances. He had a knack for it; Cordelia said that was because he grew up poor and learned how to budget at an early age. 

The Gringotts goblins treated Severus with deference now that he controlled the Morgan account. He had hired Athena Addington’s firm to handle the legal details. Alice had been accepted into a Auror internship, mostly doing records keeping and updating information gathering. 

One day after dinner, Eli, Severus, and Cordelia went for a ride along the lake shore. Severus looked at Hogwarts. "You know, I really miss that place. Even though I went through a lot of pain there."   
Eli and Cordelia noticed the look on his face.  
"I always thought you'd make a great professor," Eli said. "Maybe you should apply when they have an opening. You were the first student ever to get a perfect on the Potions NEWT, you took first in Runes and Defense Against the Dark Arts. And you got second to me in everything I took. Except Potions."   
"I'd rather teach the Defense class," he said.   
"Potions is safer, the Defense profs never work for more than a year. Think of all the research you can do, there’s a lot of other diseases in need of cures, curses in need of breaking.”  
‘You’re getting a lot done on your own, you’re getting published in the Central autonomous district’s journals, your grandfather is proud of you,” Cordelia said. “He says you have a future as a scholar.” 

Remus responded well to the Tx and Rx he was subjected to. Reversing the changes done to the DNA itself would take time, without access to gene therapy. Sirius volunteered to test the vaccine they had developed, in addition to his own therapy. He had to unblock the memories of his mother’s hatred, in utero and post natally. The only love he’d received growing up was from his Squib nurse, Angelica. He had played with his father’s staghounds growing up; the dogs adored him, he claimed that was why his animagus was a black dog, his only playmates as a child. He learned that many of his behavioral abnormalities were caused by an imbalance of the brain chemicals, the legacy of his ancestry. 

Severus was asked by the Druids to act as their agent with trade negotiations with the Central Autonomous Region, to help with the medical and scientific work being done to cure lycanthropy. He had been vaccinated by the Avalon healers before he could be allowed to go to the Balkans. The echoes of the conflict within the Ministry were discussed throughout the Continent that summer. The mad, the disenfranchised, the unwanted and the unnoticed were finding Riddle’s message appealing as they were drawn into his orbit and under his influence. Riddle’s song of purebred supremacy was irresistible to the inbred elite, and they, too, fell under his spell. 

Severus was aware of Riddle’s past. Cordelia had filled him in on all of the gossip about the murder of the student, and of his Muggle family, how he had evaded capture by hiding in the Wizarding world. The Muggle authorities were looking for him all along, they figured out that it was simply too great a coincident that so many people with connections to a mysterious Tom Riddle junior were turning up dead. Takeshi told him about how Rubeus Hagrid had been set up to take the fall, even though a cursory examination of the corpse would have established that the death could not have been caused by any sort of spider bite. 

The wizarding justice system left a lot to be desired. 

By the time Riddle’s murders began to catch up with him, he went underground, to the spaces no one wanted to look, the dark nightmare forests where the daemons lurked in the shadows. He’d gotten away with murder, so many times, it was worth the sacrifices, especially of others. He’d gotten over his professors, even though they knew what he was like at the orphanage. Horace felt so much guilt over how he had allowed a handsome clever boy to do the unthinkable with his help that he altered his memories of the most damning proof of his foolishness, to discuss horcruxes with a student. He removed the pictures of himself and Tom Riddle from his collection on display. 

Albus was also troubled by the rise of Voldemort, he finally had to admit to himself he’d been bested by his student. His vanity, his ego, would not allow him to understand just how much that boy had worked him. He knew better, or should have. It was obvious the boy was a murderer when he was still in school. But because the murder victims were Muggles, he disavowed all knowledge. Why hadn’t he done just a little bit of background investigation and discovered the identity of his family before the slaughter? Did part of him want to create a villain, someone to take arms against, to prove to himself he was the greatest wizard? Even as a child, Riddle was able to see the deepest desires of a person and would use that to get what he wanted. Tom could seduce anyone. Tom seemed to enjoy being as tempting and alluring as he could be to Albus, who soon learned to make sure he was never alone with the boy. Soon all of the staff did the same. Apparently Tom was more successful in his liaisons with other students of both sexes, and it was rumored that he had sired at least one child by the time he graduated. 

He didn’t actually enjoy sex as much as he did the power it gave him over another person. He was asexual by nature, and he never learned how to trust, and could never give himself over to another person. He knew, or thought he knew, what love did to his mother. What he didn’t know was that Bellatrix le Strange, nee Black, had been performing rituals to bind herself to him, and he had already been influenced by her madness, and she, his. A particularly virulent female daemon had been invading Bellatrix’s mind since she hit puberty and her malevolent nature manifested itself like a metastacized tumor. She became more aroused by his appearance the less human he looked; part of her enchantment was to make him sexually repellent so that only she would be his consort. Any other female would be destroyed; Riddle liked watching her taking out any rivals, and there were no shortage of women willing to spread their legs to anyone in power. Torturing and killing was the ultimate foreplay, the pair discovered. They were well matched.

Broderick le Strange approved. He married Bellatrix for her dowry and family connections, not out of lust or any need for companionship. He already had grown children, an heir, a spare, and a daughter married off to the Notts. He was prepared to profit from the upcoming conflict, his family safe overseas running the offshore businesses that allowed him to avoid the restrictive Ministry laws. 

It was Roderick who first suggested that Severus be recruited, “by whatever means necessary,” to Riddle. “He’s been doing some interesting work in mind altering potions, I’m sure it can be adapted for your needs,” he mentioned at dinner one night at the Malfoy mansion. 

Lucius made a face, and Narcissa coughed into her napkin. Malfoy recovered quickly, and said, “There are some hard feelings about Takeshi’s death, and it is my understanding that the Fey, including Eli, are not going to get involved with Ministry politics at all. Eli’s going to be busy when the Tibet war begins. And as we all know, he’s got power of attorney over the finances of the Morgan family and the Farm legacy.” 

Riddle smiled. “I’m sure you’re a big enough man to let bygones be bygones.” Narcissa coughed delicately. She didn’t know that Riddle was very aware that she was the main instigator in the murder of Takeshi, she could never forgive him, or his daughter, for rejecting her advances. She had come up with the plan, by compromising certain people in the Ministry and several Unspeakables. She was the one who procured the weapon, not even Lucius knew where she got it. 

Narcissa was not particularly intelligent, nor was she remotely sane. This combination was made worse by her failure to conceive and carry a child. Like most of the women in her set, the ideal was to marry rich, marry young, have children right away, and then, duty having been done, go out and live a little. So far she had failed, while all of her girl friends had at least one. She’d had one miscarriage at seven months, which had led to her six month stay at a magical sanitarium in Zurich. She misattributed her woes to those who hadn’t been what she wanted of them in the past. She lashed out at her parents, at her friends, at her healers, the only one spared her paranoid blameshifting was Lucius. She was aware that he would soon replace a wife who couldn’t bear him an heir, and did anything she could to curry favor from him, including getting involved with his plan to overthrow certain people in the Ministry. He didn’t think much of “Lord Voldemort’s” premise; after all, the man (was he still a man, Lucius wondered) was a half blood, his rhetoric the same as so many tyrants on both sides of the Statute of Secrecy. “Lord?” It was to laugh. The pretentiousness of this deformed wizard was laughable.


	5. The Plot Thickens

Death Eaters follow Severus  
One day, while Eli was training, he went to visit his mother in London and decided to go to Diagon Alley for some herbs. He'd gotten a new book on potions, just released, and wanted to try out some of them. He was so grateful for the support of the Morgans; he liked wearing nice clothing and being able to buy whatever books or things he needed to continue his research. He wanted to get hired as a professor as soon as there were any openings; he could take care of the Farm's finances and teach. He wanted an identity outside of the Morgans; he was sensitive to the comments made about how he was a "Faerie toy boy" being kept by the Morgan money even though he knew they were all just jealous.   
He was looking over the latest releases at the book store when George Cameron walked in. They decided to have a drink together and talk about what had been happening since graduation. George had always liked Eli, but feared her, even more than he feared his mother, who professed a distinct dislike, if not to say hatred, of all things Faerie. He was getting ready for his Grand Tour of the world,discussing travel plans. Severus told him about Beauxbatons, which he had visited when Jeanne-Marie was first hired to teach there. "I think you'd like to visit Torayama at some point. I'm spending time there, you know, to be with Eli, her unit is there. They're getting ready. The daemons always signal their moves way in advance. Eli says if daemons were smart, we'd all be a lot of trouble, but they are very stupid, they think they are so powerful they get overconfident. Their weapons improve, but they make the same stupid moves, and they always lose. I dunno, it sounds like they don't mind losing and just do this to create misery."  
"Just as dumb as Muggles, eh?"   
"Dumber. And meaner."   
"Speaking of dumb and mean, have you heard from any of those, what did they call themselves, Death Eaters? After they graduated they all moved in with Malfoy and Nott. Apparently they are getting together some kind of group. They invited me to a meeting .. . I got a real bad feeling from it. I mean ... I'm a pureblood, but I gotta admit, Eli's got a point about inbreeding. Look how many addlepates and feebleminded most of those families have in their families, you know, the ones they keep locked up and don't talk about. You know ... my mother has a thoroughbred mare, linebred for generations. Gorgeous. Perfect physique, she can outrun just about anything on four hooves. But she's dumber than a sack of hammers. Mother says she will never buy a horse like that again. Says she'll stick with crossbreeds. But she can't seem to figure out how that applies to us. She's trying to line me up with her cousin's daughters." 

George was gathering his things to leave when Lucius Malfoy and Roderick le Strange came in the pub. They sauntered over to Severus's table, sitting down uninvited as George said his farewells and departed. The men exchanged pleasantries, and le Strange casually, too casually, mentioned the Death Eaters, and invited Severus to one of their meetings.   
"But I'm a half blood," he said. "Would I be welcome there?"   
"oh, we're not prejudiced, Snape," le Strange said with a smile that chilled Severus to the bone. He didn't like these purebred supremacists. What did they want from him?   
"I'm sorry; I must be off. I have tickets for the ballet," he said, and picked up his bag.  
"I hear you'd like to teach at Hogwarts," said le Strange. "that can hap pen, with the right help." He smiled his oily smile again as Severus left. 

Eileen told Severus how certain matrons who had never spoken to her before suddenly began to appear whenever she went to Diagon Alley. She didn’t trust them; she disliked the name they had adopted, why would anyone want to eat death? So offputting. She never much cared for the blood elitists when she was in Slytherin with the various branches of those ancient, inbred families. They’d snubbed her since her parents weren’t married. She’d gotten excellent grades, and her son was the finest student in his class. So much for purebred supremacy. 

She understood why so many mistrusted the Ministry. She just didn’t think this group, with their creepy, nasty leader, was much of an alternative. Severus agreed with her. He’d figured that the only reason those same families, whose representatives at Hogwarts had ignored him until his final year, when his fortunes had improved and his family connections with his magical family re-established. He assumed that they just wanted a piece of the Morgan action. She knew, Emerald knew, that Takeshi’s murderers were part of the same cabal, that the Ministry was full of Riddle’s agents and informants. 

Emerald was processing the paperwork to have Eileen taken in as a refugee and they were waiting for an opening. Severus sent his father to Vancouver, to see about buying a club. He was getting a steady income from the reissue of the old recordings, doubled since Takeshi’s will gave his share to Tobias. He began to visit his grandfather regularly, learning more about the books he would be inheriting. The house at Spinner’s End was turning into a self contained library more than a home, which suited Severus just fine. It was his hiding place, where he could go to be alone. He’d set scrying mirrors in all the rooms that only he and Eli could read, the floo network was charmed to block all but a select few. It was wired for electricity, which kept out most wizards, those who didn’t know how to work magic around electrical and magnetic fields. 

He spent a lot of time in his laboratory at the Farm. Sometimes he slept there, when he missed Eli’s presence in the loft. Every now and then he’d get word of the Potters, as they spent the summer drifting around all of the most romantic magical places that also fielded a Quidditch team. He cut out the pictures from the newspapers and kept them in Eli’s loft with the rest of his irreplaceable treasures, in a cabinet in the niche where his swords were displayed. He kept track of the progress being made in the potion trials in Prague and the field work in the Balkans. There was some promising work being done by astronomers who were learning just why the moon had the effect it did, and were developing ways of circumventing the tidal pull on the brains of those who had been afflicted. 

Jeanne-Marie and Cordelia designed and began construction on the hospital at the gate, over looking the stream as it flowed to the lake. They designed an entrance that was built into the hillside itself, leading to the emergency room, which was dug into the living rock. The wards and clinics were ranged above the ER, accessed by a decorative funicular, with stone pathways and stairs leading along the edge of the stream. A platoon of Faerie guards was stationed at the gateway, now flanked by somewhat fanciful but utile guardhouses. 

Rafaela Turner approached Jeanne-Marie about working at the hospital one Sunday at the Farm, visiting Eli and Severus. “They don’t really do much curing there, more just caretaking. You’re going to need at least one Terran healer, I’d like to be the first. Let me know when you’ve got an opening. I really miss coming here,” she said. “So does Vivienne, she’s out in the Balkans right now, doing a study on the families of werewolves and how they cope with the social issues.”

Alice and Frank were also visiting that Sunday. Takeshi’s murder had caused a lot of problems at the Ministry, or maybe it just exposed what was already there . Aurors didn’t trust each other, the toxic memes of Riddle and his minions infected them. A miasma of mendacity rose up from the offices and various departments, as more people disappeared. 

“Lucky for both of us we aren’t considered very important, we’re just interns and no one pays much attention to us. So we pay attention. I wish I knew someone who knows them; Severus, you used to hang around with some of those Slytherins who are getting involved with that.”

“I’d really prefer you didn’t get close to that group, Severus,” Eli said. “There is just too much bad craziness in that group.”

“Regulus told me,” Severus said. “So far, they are just collecting volunteers, but I wouldn’t put it past them to use more, shall we say, devious methods of recruitment.” 

“What is he doing palling around with them? What with his Muggleborn girlfriend?”

Alice scowled. “He came to me not long before gradution.

 

Riddle knew a little bit about daemons. He believed, as did most in the Ministry, that they didn’t have any power on this side of the Realm, that they could only manifest in the Pacific Rim area. That was partially true; physically, they could not take form outside of that region, but they could, and did, come into the minds of damaged souls and malformed psyches. 

He’d even tried to summon a demon when he was still at Hogwarts. He was unsuccessful, and often laughed at his foolishness; didn’t even the Muggles realize that they gave nothing of value, had no real power, as you could see by the results. It caused madness, if one wasn’t already mad, just look at what happened to that idiot Muggle Crowley. He didn’t realize that the daemons didn’t want to work with him, they wanted him to become a daemon. Ever since the Fey had sealed off their portals in the region, long before they were banished, with wards that could not be broken. That didn’t stop them from trying. 

The only difference between a daemon and all other life forms was that daemons have no souls. It was difficult to destroy a soul, but it could be done. The tricky part was to destroy the soul while there was still a body with a controlling personality. So far the daemons had been unsuccessful, but this Riddle being was the best candidate they had so far.


	6. Severus goes undercover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though he knows that Riddle and the Death Eaters are a loser's game, he is drawn in to keep Alice and Frank informed and to keep an eye on Regulus Black, who is being forced into the cult by his mother. Rhiannon has to leave before she finds out about their romance. Eli is kept out of it until her war is over.

Severus was concerned about Regulus. The boy was brave, but perhaps not as smart as he thought he was. Why was he getting involved with the Death Eaters? To make his mother happy, perhaps? He wasn’t of age yet; maybe he was buying time. He didn’t want to discuss things with Eli. She was about to be sent out to fight daemons, he didn’t want her to worry about what was going on here. 

He needed to talk to Jeanne-Marie. 

Jeanne-Marie suggested that Alice, Frank, Regulus and Rhiannon join her in London Friday and Saturday, take in some music, maybe ballet or opera. She sent owls to Alice and Rhiannon, and they were to ask Frank and Regulus to join them. Alice had been “reading law” as well as attending all manner of hearings, and handling paperwork for the various agencies, including Gringotts, as well as business law, which was one of the reasons she got one of the coveted internships in the Auror’s office. Their office was right next door to the Leaky Cauldron, and had an access portal on the “Muggle” side, in a small alley off a street that no one ever seemed to notice, unless they knew what they were looking for. 

Alice and her mother Athena met for lunch in her office, salad and sandwiches from one of the local delis. Severus was already there when Alice arrived. Athena looked concerned. Rhiannon arrived shortly after Alice got there, and they all sat in Athena’s office, looking out the bay window to Diagon Alley. 

“I’m afraid that Regulus may be in over his head with this group, the ‘death eaters,’ and Frank is also in danger because of his work with Takeshi. They’ve expressed in interest in me because of the work I’m doing. They’ve been stalking my mother, coming after me when I’m in town, lurking in Hogsmeade, I’m safe from them only in in Faerie or Torayama. So I’m going with Regulus at the end of the month with the Notts on their estate. They have a wonderful stable, so I’ll get to ride. And then I will tell Frank who was there. The only people you can trust outside of this room are Jeanne-Marie, Cordelia and all of the Fey, of course.”

“This Riddle fellow is the ‘monster of the id’ or sociopath, or whatever you want to call it,” Athena said. “Classic case. Here’s a file on him,” she said, opening a file cabinet and pulling out a thick stack of parchments and hemp paper documents, photographs, and reports from the Aurors of the nations where he’d been, consorting with the most despised and depraved of Wizardry, including the Central Autonomous Zone, not to mention the official Scotland Yard investigation and trial of the wrong man for the Riddle murders. All of you have Faerie spheres, here’s the file with narration and video feed,” she said, handing them each a silver key that fit in the top of the sphere, like a “memory stick” for computers. They put them in the mojo bags they all carried around their necks. 

“And remember, not a word of this to Eli until the conflict is over,” Severus said. “They’re expecting the first attack in late summer. The Black Turtles are in place, and when the daemons arrive, the Azure Dragons come in on their ships, with the White Tigers ready to attack. Because it’s so cold, the Vanir Bearserkers are already in place, they’re about the only ones outside of the people who live there who can handle the weather. They do get altitude sickness, but we’ve got potions for that.” He drew down a screen, which showed a three dimensional model of the area, with the daemon portals in red. The temples, villages, and outlying habitations of all creatures were green, the water features in blue. “Jeanne-Marie says that there are few too Guardian Dragons left in the mountains bordering with the Ch’in and the daemons are using the people to invade. The captive breeding program in Rumania is doing well, and there is talk of releasing some back into their native lands. Where many were captured as fledglings. She says dragons remember, and they want to go back, but there are no humans left who speak their language, and they are not considered to be equal. Many did evacuated to Faerie, of course, and most of them would like to return, if it’s ever practical to so.”

Rhiannon shook her head. “that’s not likely in the near future, they’re even killing off the tigers, the last species who could kill daemons. First they ran off the phoenixes, then the dragons, now the tigers . ..”

“Not to mention running off the Fey,” Alice said. 

“There are always a few adepts who can learn to identify and defeat them,” Frank said. 

Rhiannon dug in her bag, and removed an envelope full of tickets. “It’s a great show, my mother got these tickets from her cousin, Kim, Rory Gallagher is on the bill. We’ll meet her there.”

Severus took two tickets. “I’m going with Jeanne-Marie, we’ll meet you at the theater, it’s best not to travel together. I know I’m being watched by Riddle’s people.” He left the office, went to the alleyway and slipped into the foot traffic. He had learned how to pull down a shadow and could literally disappear into the background. He went to the flat’s kitchen and made dinner for Jeanne-Marie, played with the cats, and set up the sphere to show to her when she arrived. 

Jeanne-Marie was currently a Professor at Beauxbatons, teaching Care of Magical Creatures, with special emphasis on equines. The forests near the school had a thriving unicorn colony. She was one of the very few who could handle the team that pulled their coach, a team of matched Palomino flying mares, the size of African elephants, descendants of the mares who had pulled Apollo’s sun chariot, so the legends said. The feathers from their wings, the silvery white hairs from their manes and tails had magical properties of healing. She was a Consultant to the Dragon handlers in Rumania, but did not approve of how they forcibly removed dragons and appropriated all eggs. The Terrans were astounded at how she could speak to the dragons, how the dragons all liked her and never tried to harm her. She could ride any of them, flew alongside them as her animagus, the phoenix. Her book on dragon care was considered to be the best text ever published on the topic. 

When she arrived at the flat, Severus had dinner on the table in the front room, with the sphere set up. She watched the video while they ate. As they cleaned up, they discussed what needed to be done. 

“Regulus is in a very dangerous place, and yes, Frank does need an insider, but this has to be kept a complete secret. We’re going to need the High Priestess to do some protection spells, before you go. I remember how Father told you that you would be a Black Turtle, and that’s what you’ve got to be. We’ll see about getting you some extra training with them. You don’t want to get in too deep with those people if you can help it.” 

She looked at him, sighed deeply. “Bad enough my little sister is a warrior, now my little brother is going to be a spy. You know, maybe it would be a good idea to hide Rhiannon as a transfer student, send her to Mahoutokoro.”

“We’d better get to the concert,” Severus said. They went to their rooms and put on “Muggle drag” for the concert, tour T-shirts, Levis, boots and leather jackets. Jeanne-Marie French braided her hair, donned a black cashmere beret, put on smoked glasses and wore no makeup or jewelry. She just attracted too much attention when she dressed up. Rhiannon was waiting for them at their seats and gave them backstage passes. 

“Kim wants to meet you and Rory asked about Eli, I told him she was ‘in training’ in Japan.”

They went to the green room, where all of the bands were assembled. Rory Gallagher went to Jeanne-Marie, saying, “So sorry to hear about your father, he was my inspiration.”

She nodded. “That meant a lot to him, you were always his favorite guitar player.” 

“I hear that the re-issues are selling well, especially in America and Japan.”

“Yes, they are,” Severus said. 

“How is your father, I know he took it hard, what happened.” 

“He’s opening a place in Vancouver. He said he enjoyed the West Coast and he’s done with England.”

“And your mother?”

“They’re splitting up.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Some people shouldn’t get married.”

 

The musicians were all staring at Jeanne-Marie. Kim Simmonds thought she was the most beautiful being on the planet. Like she wasn’t really human, she was too perfect. He’d met Eli before and thought she was gorgeous, but totally intimidating, an Amazon beauty. Her older sister was even more magnificent. He remembered seeing Takeshi and Tobias play the blues, the first band he’d ever seen. His uncle had all their records. Like a lot of guitar players in the UK, he was an inspiration, his long hair, the clothes, and making his guitar sing in harmony with Tobias. They were the first to use twin lead guitars, and all of the band members were vocalists. He’d never met Emerald, but saw her in a picture once. Jeanne-Marie looked very much like her. 

The room was getting crowded, so Severus and Jeanne-Marie excused themselves to go to their seats, to the relief of all the women there. Rhiannon and her mother were sitting with Regulus, deep in discussion. Jeanne-Marie sat next to Alice and Severus on her other side. 

“We’re going to all go back to the flat together, Severus sent for the limo. Aeron went into business himself after Takeshi died, he’s running his own service, everyone in the building uses him now. The Ministry took away the Access Amulet so he can’t drive into the ‘secret’ underground garage, but he doesn’t want to go back there for any reason.” 

After the concert was over, the group went around the side street to wait for the limo. They got in and set out for the Whitehall flat. Jeanne-Marie explained to Rowan, Rhiannon’s mother, that she was allowed in the building because of an obscure clause in the Statute, that buildings, facilities, and businesses that worked or lived with Muggles before the Statute could still do so, but the Wizard or Witch who did so was responsible for their behavior. 

Eileen was waiting for the group, and had food and drink on the table when they returned. Jeanne-Marie removed a small silver cauldron, her wand, and amulets of polished obsidian, setting them on the coffee table across from a large sofa that faced the fireplace. She set up her communication tablet and placed it next to two scrying orbs of smoky crystal. 

“Who wants to start?” Jeanne Marie said, as she poured out mead, the special seer’s blend, into cut crystal snifter goblets. “Sip this slowly.” 

Alice lifted her goblet and took a sip. “I heard some gossip in the women’s room at the Ministry. About how embarrassed a certain Mrs Black would be when it came out her last son was getting involved with that Muggle in Slytherin. It turns out one of the Greengrass girls, who has targeted Regulus for her mate, was following him around and caught them meeting in Nocturne Alley. And told her mother. Well, as you know, once one of those ‘ladies’ gets it started, it goes everywhere quickly. So, I went to Frank and Cordelia, who told Severus.”

Frank sipped his mead. “Those people are dangerous and they are murdering people, including Muggles. Takeshi wasn’t the first. No one can trust anyone. And since Regulus is being forced into joining the Death Eaters, it’s best to get Rhiannon out of the way completely. There is an opening at Mahoutokoro. Exchange student program. I did that and I loved it. It’s a fantastic school.”

Jeanne-Marie nodded. “I went to school there myself, so did my grandmother. The weather is wonderful, they have excellent teachers. Don’t worry about language; we have a special treatment for that. They also need you on their Quidditch team. Now, the story we’re giving out is that your mother found out about Regulus and insisted on it, when she heard about the opening. She’ll be setting up a store in Kyoto, to sell her clothing line. You will love the magical quarter of Kyoto.”

Severus took a large swallow of mead. “I’m going to ‘allow’ Regulus to draw me into their fold, slowly, and feed information to Frank and Alice. I’ll be going with Regulus to the Notts for the weekend, presumably to check out horses for Cordelia. The problem is that is the sort of cult that is a lot harder to get out of than to get in.”

 

Regulus and Rhiannon looked at each other, each about to cry. “I know you two don’t want to be apart, but it’s for the best. Besides, both of you will see each other at Quidditch matches during the year. And you can use these globes, they look like any other Terran scrying orbs but are connected to each other. Both of you, come with me.”

She sat between them on the sofa. “Each of you pick one up, and turn it upside down, then hold out your left hand to me. I will prick your palm with my athame, then I will put a drop of your blood in the hole at the bottom. This will enable the control system. You first, Regulus.”

He held out his hand, and Jeanne-Marie touched the point of her blade to the center of his palm. A drop of blood welled up, and she dipped the blade in it, then put the point of the blade in the small hole on the bottom of the orb. She then picked up her wand, touched it to the hole, which sealed itself. 

Rhiannon held out her hand. “I need two drops from you,” Jeanne-Marie said, repeating the process with the orb, then taking another drop of blood and dipping the point of the blade into the silver cauldron, where a puff of green smoke came out, and formed what looked like a man in long robes. 

 

“I thought so,” Jeanne-Marie said in a soft voice. “Not to be nosy, Rowan, but where did you meet Rhiannon’s father?”

“I met him at a music festival, near ______ Castle. At Beltane. I was with some friends, so was he, and we camped together . . . that’s why every year I go back, he is always waiting for me.”

Jeanne-Marie laughed. “He’s a Faerie, my friend … what did he say his name was?’

“Martin, he said, and he plays for me on his guitar.”

Jeanne-Marie smiled. “Did you dream of a baby, and did she ask that Martin be her father?”

Rowan nodded. “So he was one of you?”

“Eli just assumed her father was Fey when she met her,” Severus said. “In this case, the paternal line is the clan of Merlin. That’s what the green smoke was about.”

“You have magical ability too, Rowan,” said Jeanne-Marie. “Not enough to be measured by those Ministry clowns, of course. They miss a lot of adepts. We have a Druid who was thought to be a Squib, we have some more who were never told of their skills. Most Terrans have some ability, it’s like every other talent, you have some who can sing like sirens and others who can’t carry a tune in a bucket. And of course, plenty of Muggleborn witches and wizards are brainwashed to deny their ability.”

She turned back to Regulus and Rhiannon. “Now, join the hands I pierced. Then, put the hand around the orb to activate.” 

They followed her instructions, and the orbs made a soft chime and a picture of the other person appeared inside. “You will always be able to talk, and the person can see you and where you are. No one else will be able to activate the connection but the two of you. And it can be used for scrying, if you’re so inclined.”

 

Alice looked at the two miserable teens with pity. “It’s only temporary, once you’re both of age Regulus can live his own life.”

“Maybe not, if he’s hooked up with those Death Eaters,” Frank said. “You took on more than you can handle, but I know your mother gave you no choice. You don’t want to worry about Rhiannon’s safety, and no one can harm here there.”

Regulus nodded. “I want you to be safe, Rhiannon. I’ll always be in touch with you,” Regulus said, holding her hand in one of his, the softball sized globe in his other hand. 

Rhiannon picked up her globe. “I want you to be safe, too, Regulus. At least I’ll see at least three times next year in the tourneys, more if both teams make it to the playoffs … won’t it be strange to be playing against each other? And during break, I’m sure we can find a place for us to hide from your family, maybe Mount Shasta. Anywhere the Ministry isn’t.” 

Jeanne-Marie handed out the obsidian amulets, which where concave polished round mirrors, about the size of a silver dollar including the gold setting. “Keep these near by, they reflect any magic being directed at you.” 

She went to the kitchen and came back with a large bottle of applejack and snifters. “Now it’s time to drink, listen to music, and try and get some rest.” She set down the snifters on the coffee table, which Severus had cleared, filled them and handed them out. “That was a great concert, wasn’t it?”


	7. Revelations

MatMnext

Jeanne-Marie Counsels Rhiannon   
Severus is Courted by the DEs

Jeanne-Marie told Rhiannon and Rowan that she wanted to talk to them in the kitchen. 

“We don’t have sex until we are 17, but I know Terrans tend to start younger than that. You know, many Fey mothers use the stored essence of their first time for impregnation, if they are pair bonded with the father, you see, the emotions of both parties is critical in gene expression in utero. The woman must be emotionally and physically ready for gestation, and be selected; not all who volunteer make the cut. Sometimes we have one woman collect the essence, and her emotions, her feelings, become part of it, and the woman who did the collection is considered family, like an aunt, the mother’s sister.  
You were raised in Muggle schools? So you know of evolution? At one time, the Fey and what is called Homo Sapiens were so close we could interbreed freely. But since we went away, living in our Realm, we evolved quickly in a different direction. And now, we are so different we are so genetically divergent that this is no longer possible without assistance. Human/Faerie hybrids are like mules, you see.   
We are needed when there are missions in your realm. We have ‘hybrid vigor’ and are stronger and tend to be savants and the most talented in magic. Like my ability to speak all of the languages, Eli’s talent and drive as a warrior. Not all Faeries have children; we have the optimal population and keep it steady. Things have to balance.” 

“And it’s easier to stay in balance,” Rowan said. “Is Martin like you? No, he couldn’t, he wasn’t sterile.”

“It’s a little more complicated. How much do you know about genetics?”

Rowan looked thoughtful. “I’ve read a bit about Watson and Crick, the Double Helix and all that. I don’t really get it, but it makes sense, especially when you think about Gregor Mendel.”

“Yes, well . . . “ Jeanne-Marie traced a form that looked like a ladder in the air, taking form in colors. “The base pairs form a chemical bond, which makes this two dimensional model twist in the third dimension.” The form twisted to form a double helix. “There are more than three dimensions, of course. Suppose that there is a twist of this form to combine with another helix in the fourth dimension? If all you can perceive is three dimensions, you can’t see it, and perception becomes reality for humans. The brain just ignores that which is outside certain parameters, certain paradigms, if you will. Those can ‘see the unseeable’ tend to be labeled as hopelessly crazy and are ignored, until enough evidence comes forward.”

Rowan looked at Jeanne-Marie. “I think I know what you mean. When I was young my family went to San Francisco, we were walking at Land’s End with a friend of my father’s who’d lived out there since the war, and he said it was a good time to look at hummingbirds, I didn’t know what they were. So we were walking and I didn’t see anything . .. until that man stopped and said, ‘did you hear that?’ when there was this odd whistling sound. And he pointed out this tiny creature I’d thought was some kind of bug . . . and I started seeing them everywhere, dancing in the sun.” 

Jeanne-Marie nodded. “Those sentient beings gifted in what some call magic have that 4th dimension helix . . .” Jeanne-Marine touched their foreheads, and both of them saw which was unseeable before. “We are descended from the same source, and we’ve been evolving in different directions for some time, now cross breeding is difficult. Faerie males are at their most fertile at Beltane, even then it’s rare that they will impregnate a Terran woman. By the way, the legend of the changeling isn’t so, we would never do that to one of our children! Those children who are sired by Faeries are often called that. To get to the point of this discussion, Rhiannon, you very well may be sterile. My sister and I are, since our mother was Faerie, and have the additional helixes, passed along the female line, of course. I’ll keep it simple. The female offspring of female Faeries and male Terrans are sterile, the male offspring fertile only during Beltane. With a Terran female and Faerie male, the males are fertile, and the females only during Beltane. That’s oversimplifying, of course, and we haven’t done a lot of research on Terrans for obvious reasons.”

“So I might be sterile? Hmm. I can deal with that. If I ever have any maternal feelings I can always adopt,” Rhiannon said. “When do I get to meet Martin?” 

“The two of you need to come see Avalon and Rhiannon should meet her father. We could go there any time you like. Some Faerie men adore Terran women, some Terran women anyway, he probably dreamed of you. Tell me, what did he say when you told him your daughter was going to Hogwarts? Or no, you didn’t tell him because of the warning they gave you when Rhiannon got her letter. He probably knows already.”

 

“We have very different views on children in Avalon. We have to keep a stable population at optimal genetic diversity, so we consider the best genetic blends, just like how Terrans breed horses, if you will. But socially, it’s difficult to break up those who have formed tight bonds, so we do a lot of what’s called here artificial insemination. Here, I can show you, I always carry around a few of these, you know how it is working at a school …” 

She opened her shoulder bag and withdrew a vial, about five inches long, with a round body and a tapered long neck. It was made of a translucent green glass, with a bullet shaped opaque stopper in jade green. “They come in all colors,” she said. “Now, before you have sex, you take the top, and insert it vaginally. It forms a flexible barrier over the cervix, sealing it. It can be left in place for days, if necessary. After sex, , you take the flask, squeeze on the body of the flask, which activates the device. Then, you insert it, release the flask, and all of the contents are pulled into the flask, crystallized, and the cervical shield is vacuumed out and seals the flask. The flasks can be used to inseminate at a later time, with a simple process. Many women save them, there are spells and potions that can be made with the crystals, as well. Very pretty, they look like tiny diamonds. We have discovered that the particular feelings of both partners has a significant effect on the quality of the sperm and influences the offspring. So those women who breed with their usual partner often use this method. Some like to use the first time of coupling, it’s said to have certain magical properties.”

Rowan smiled. “That sounds a lot better than the stuff I have to use.”

“Would you like some? I have about a dozen with me and lots more on the Farm.” She held up a red vial. “This is backup in case you forget. One should never gestate unless all conditions are optimal.” 

 

Frank, Severus, Alice and Regulus talked about the importance of keeping their relationship secret, and joined hands to seal their bond, and swore and oath never to betray each other. Regulus understood the need of absolute discretion since they were all being tailed by somebody. 

“I’m most afraid of Mother’s Informers, and all of the girls I’m expected to take an interest in, from the same families who’ve been marrying each other for more generations than is good for the gene pool, as Eli once mentioned. They’ll all be at Nott Manor for the house party. Some of them were sent to Beauxbatons.”

Severus smiled. “I can’t wait to see them. A string of thoroughbred fillies at the auction. Two legged and four legged. I would bet the latter are more intelligent.”

“Some of the males will be there, the ones sent to Durmstrang, usually younger sons, but at least they can ride. And you know some of them already.” 

“Cordelia has given me a great deal of information about those families, she knows everyone.”

“And dishes the dirt on them all,” Alice added. “Cordelia has been doing my wedding planning. Beltane on the Farm. My mother thinks it’s great but Frank’s mother is appalled. We want the ceremony itself to be on the hilltop at dawn, light the fire, then down the hill to eat and dance.” 

Severus left to go to his laboratory on the Farm via the floo and Regulus apparated from the roof to Grimmaud Place, Frank and Alice went back to their respective homes, leaving Jeanne-Marie with Rowan and Rhiannon. She showed them her communications tablet, with the location and profession of Martin of Avalon, in the College of Bards. 

He sent them greetings and an invitation to stay with him whenever they liked. It was time for his daughter to get to know him. 

“How about tomorrow morning? We can get to the Farm before breakfast, eat there, go through the mists to Avalon and spend the day there. Then Aeron can get you home Monday morning. Usually we wait until the child is of age to come forward, but exigent circumstances require extraordinary efforts. He’s been keeping track of both of you, of course.” 

“That would be nice,” Rowan said. “Could we stop by my place first?”

“Good idea, I can put some wards on your place in case anyone tries anything,” Jeanne-Marie said. She went to the house phone and left a message for Aeron.

 

Kreacher greeted Regulus with his usual obsequiousness, and Regulus went straight to his room and took out the orb. Jeanne-Marie had included written instructions on its use, how to change the size from its maximum, its current size, to minimum, smaller than a golf ball. Any exposed surface would act like a camera, so he designed a special net harness that expanded as the orb expanded, and put it on a leather thong around his neck. Rhiannon’s mother crocheted her a similar holder for her orb. 

Both of them kept the orbs on their person at all times. 

The next morning, Jeanne-Marie took Rowan and Rhiannon to the Farmhouse in the limo, after stopping by their flat to put wards on it. She escorted them to the gateway and through the mists to Avalon, where Emerald and Martin were waiting for them. The group walked through the groves along the lake to the College of Bards, in the Theater District. There were always rooms available for travelers in that College, and mother and daughter were made comfortable while Martin and his friends played for them and shared their food and drink. 

Arrangements were made for Rhiannon’s transfer. 

 

Severus returned to his research at the Farm, until it was time to go to the Nott estate. He was showing his stock, for sale to a selected few, including Cordelia. His school friend Tom Riddle didn’t ride. Horses didn’t like him. Same with dogs, unicorns, phoenix, hippogriffs and many others. Nott was aware that this animosity indicated psychomagical dysfunction, often using his equines as bodyguards. He’d known Cordelia Morgan all his life, admiring her skills as a witch, an equestrian, and bon vivant. He could never live up to her standards.

Cordelia had a strict policy. No bits. No metal in the horse’s mouths. Ever. No restraints on the horse’s head or neck. She used a special bridle, decorated with amulets and charms, with a bosal with reins made of woven heavy silk. She was considered to be eccentric by many, but you simply couldn’t deny the fact that during any sort of competition, Cordelia and her horses were unbeatable. 

Nott loved his horses which is why Cordelia was one of the few people he would sell them to. He wanted to show him his latest crop of green trained horses, a cross between his favorite Akhal Teke and Russian warmbloods, rescued from the Muggles during their civil wars. They had been hand trained from birth, to work in teams directed by one of the stable Nisser riding the lead horse, as a four horse team, or a troika with a lead horse and rider. He shared Cordelia’s love of the Friesian horses, for their strength and beauty, crossing them with Arabs and other blood horses to obtain riding stock. He coveted Faerie horses, and was jealous of the fact that Severus and Cordelia rode them. 

Nott was first and foremost a pragmatist. He didn’t buy into the “purebred supremacy” rhetoric that was so popular among his peers; anyone with any sense realized it was more about money than blood. It just so happened that those with money married those with money, those with power marry those with power, and that’s how it gets started, like with the Muggle aristocracy. He secretly agreed with the Morgans, about how inbreeding is bad for horses and people; besides, he was well aware how paternity is often not what is presumed. In his breeding programs, ability counted more than bloodlines, and outbreeding seemed to get much better results than inbreeding, for dogs, horses, and people. 

Severus and Cordelia packed their gear, their custom saddles, designed to distribute the weight on the horse’s back to reduce strain and allow maximum contact between horse and rider, as well as their personal bosal style bridle. Cordelia packed three to match her outfits and jewelry. Severus had mastered enough mentalics to be able to link up with most creatures and could ride any of the equines he’d met. The secret was reciprocity, respect, and empathy. Concepts that most of Riddle’s followers were incapable of comprehending, Severus had noted. 

They arrived Friday evening as the sun set, went to their rooms and got dressed for dinner. Both wore the most formal mourning kimino, as they would for every social occasion in the year following Takeshi’s death. Neither would dance or sing, and they excused themselves after dinner to go to their rooms to rest. They and their host planned on waking at first light and riding out to see the sunrise. The girls who had been gathered were disappointed, of course, since they’d heard of his prowess on the dance floor with Eli. They were intimidated by her, of course, since they had met her when she visited their professor at Beauxbatons. Never mess with a Faerie, they knew that. You make one mad at you they all are. 

The dinner conversation between Nott, Cordelia, and Severus mostly was about the Morgan plan to purchase land in Hogsmeade, near the train station, for a livery stable. Some of the students had horses at home, and it would be nice to be able to board them close to the school. Riding lessons, trail rides, could be offered as well. Since the Farm became the Embassy, access was restricted and since there were fewer stables in both Wizarding and Muggle worlds, the Nisser were having a harder time finding homes. The business was to be run by the Nisser, not the humans, not the Fey. Athena Addington and her coven of forensic witches were writing up the contracts, aided by the Druid lawyers.


	8. Beltane Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank and Alice get married, Riddle consolidates his power base as more of the elites decide to move overseas

Beltane Wedding Frank and Alice 1979? 80?

Frank and Alice had almost hoped that their choice of date and location would keep their mothers from interfering with their plans. Athena Addington thought it was a charming idea, sparing her the hassle of having anything to do with the planning. When Frank told his mother, Augusta, as anticipated, pitched a fit. Frank used his usual method of smiling at her no matter what she said, politely refusing to change his mind, smiling with a double dose of charm.   
“It’s our wedding, and we understand if you won’t come, but we hope you will,” he told her.   
Augusta knew when she’d been licked, and although she never missed a chance to complain about the wedding, she would attend, “under duress,” as she put it. 

All of the guests spent the night before the wedding at the Farm. Vivienne was there with Asimov, Eleutheria was with George Cameron, who’d been her guest at the Mount Shasta horse farm. Eli arrived at sunset via portkey, she had gotten a 48 hour leave. She and Severus had barricaded themselves in the loft since her arrival. Yojimbo stayed with the unit where the horses were having their own gathering, taking over the main Temple in the sheltered valley by the sacred lake where the White Tigers and Azure Dragons had their main base. Jeanne-Marie flew in from Beauxbatons on one of the Palominos. 

 

Alice was wearing the white Duchesse satin gown, (with its matching cape, embroidered in gold bullion), she had worn to the Yule party where Frank claimed he made the decision to marry her, she looked like an angel in it. She was crowned with orchids, purple roses and lily-of-the-valley woven with silk ribbons entwined around a triple strand of pearls, and carried a bouquet of the same blooms. Around her neck was a choker strand of pearls with a sapphire at her throat. She rode Artemis, the silver Akhal-Teke, side saddle, draped in purple velvet, edged in gold bullion fringe, to protect her dress. Alice decided on the side saddle because the dress simply didn’t work otherwise, and it looked divine, the satin train fluttering down the side of the horse, her white slipper satin, gold embroidered ankle boots peeking out from the skirt. Artemis’s bridle was decorated amethysts and gold charms, her mane and tail braided with ribbons and flowers to match Alice. 

On her off side, Frank rode alongside her on Apollo, the gold buckskin of the same breed, wearing a top hat, black cutaway coat, purple vest embroidered in gold, purple and white striped cravat, white breeches and his best boots. Apollo wore the regalia of the Spanish Riding School, a wedding present sent by Lily and James Potter, a complete set of the most formal tack for each of them, sent from Vienna, where they stopped en route to a Quidditch match in the magical forest on the Danube. The saddle blanket was purple velvet, trimmed in gold fringe with the sigil made from their initials embroidered in gold in the corners. 

The procession was led by Cordelia, riding her favorite Friesian, then Augusta and Athena, riding next to each other on Arabians. All of the women wore creative variations of riding habits, in shades of purple, mauve, and lavender, with pannier baskets of flowers, tossing rose petals, jasmine, and scented powders in the path of the couple. The guests had formed two straight lines on their horses, wands raised in blessing. Next in the procession were Eli and Severus, on Friesians, with purple velvet saddle cloths like the wedding party, their best boots, white breeches, and kimono jackets. Severus’s jacket had a gold and purple dragon rising from the sea into the air, holding a pearl. He wore his two swords. Eli’s jacket was purple with a gold, silver, and bronze tiger leaping. She had her sword at her side. 

At first light, Jeanne-Marie flew to the top of the hill with the magistrate, a Druid with the legal paperwork, and two harp players on the Palomino’s back. The ceremony was to take place on the observatory platform, paved with the blue granite found only on the Farm’s property. The procession began to climb the hill, the guests falling in behind the wedding party. They rode to the round platform, where the magistrate was waiting for them, standing on the wide lip of the fire pit, which had been converted to Faerie fire. When the sun hit the gold parabolic mirror set up to catch the light and focus it on the black crystal, it lit the fire. The smokeless, aurora colored flame would burn for 24 hours and announced the beginning of the party on the Farm. The view from the top of the hill was magnificent, across the lake to Hogwarts and to the north, the town of Hogsmeade, where the Mayfair was drawing crowds dressed in their most colorful regalia. 

The magistrate recited the ceremony, Frank and Alice exchanged their vows, Cordelia and both mothers gave their blessings on the union, and the couple, hand in hand, leaped their horses over the broom and led the procession down the hill, to the celebratory feast in the Great Hall. Augusta excused herself from the party at noon, when the Beltane celebrants began to arrive. 

Hogsmeade was at its best on Beltane, flowers everywhere, music playing, people singing and dancing. There was a curfew at sunset for everyone who was not of age, when things got a bit more tribal. Eli and Severus escorted Frank and Alice to Avalon, where they would spend the night, thence Torayama, where they would honeymoon. They wanted to work on their martial skills and mental abilities, while enjoying the weather, or trying to. Torayama Naval Base published reports on the battle of Tibet, including video feeds. 

Avalon at Beltane was always fun, with music, dancing, food, drink, and all manner of intoxicants, euphorics, and other activities. Eli gave Frank and Alice her flat, while she and Severus stayed in Yojimbo’s room. The horses were all in their own gatherings, so Alice asked why Eli told them to wear riding gear.

“Tomorrow we get to ride Dragons to Torayama. Four of the refugees volunteered to return to where they were hatched. They are the only creature with a high tolerance to radiation. Those fool Ch’in got nukes. If they use them the Muggles will start a world war with no weapons barred.”

Alice looked alarmed. “They are all mad, aren’t they?” 

Eli just looked sad.   
“Yes, they are. The daemons got to them. We’ll be going with four Red Dragons, they have the most intense fire. You’ll be able to watch on a mirror if you want. It will be ugly, but it will be fast. The fire and ice will destroy the nukes, but it very well could kill all the dragons, not from the radiation, but the shock blast if their fires trigger an explosion. Red dragon fire is so intense that everything is vaporized. All of the Terran life forms will die instantly. The daemons will take a little longer to be destroyed, but they can’t withstand the ‘holy fire’ for more than a few seconds.”

Severus looked grim. “It’s the only way to prevent a world war among the Muggles. The damage must be contained and concealed.” 

 

 

Dragons were the natural enemy of daemons. They can easily identify and kill daemons in their physical forms, like tigers, the daemon could not control them. They will kill those who are possessed by daemons, using their fire to incinerate instantaneously. Even daemons could not withstand the fire of a mature Red Asian Fire Dragon. 

 

Frank was interested in Eli’s armor, made of dragonhide and black metal. She wore what looked like lederhosen and thigh high, lace up boots, and a short jacket like a torredore’s. The gauntets were made from the skin of the dragon’s front feet, shrunk to fit Eli’s hands. Her breastplate, elbow and knee guards, made of the same black metal as her helmet. Eli explained that the black metal was made of a special alloy, made of gold, silver, and black diamonds, that repelled magic as well as providing protection from weapons. Faerie’s planet had a core of gold; it was as common as iron is on Terra, silver and copper were plentiful, but there was almost no iron, and what is called “Faerie metal” similar in distribution and quantity as aluminum. The Ovates made any number of alloys used in armor, weapons, and space craft. 

“Why dragonhide?” Frank asked. 

“Dragonhide is stronger, lighter, and a lot more flexible than metal, it resists heat and radiation very well,” Eli said. “The dragons donate their hides, of course. We have a special ritual where we remove the skin and then use the Faerie fire to reduce them to their elements, like all other creatures we don’t use as food. You know, that whole circle of life thing. The black metal is amazing, I have no idea how they use the black diamond dust in an alloy, you know that black diamonds are the most dense and hardest of all of the minerals . .. we make shoe and helmet spikes for the horses out of black diamonds. There is a process that one of the Ovates, who happened to be a refugee goblin, came up with, using the diamonds, gold, some silver, some Faerie metal, forged together. We have visors made of clear tempered diamonds, diamonds are as common as quartz is here. So . .. you see, we have no need to hoard any of the things Terrans fight and kill for. That’s why we are so careful about who we let in.” 

The next morning they ate breakfast and went to the military plaza, and waited while the dragons flew in with many of their clan. Jeanne-Marie place mindgems on all of the Terrans, then did the same to the dragons they would ride. 

“Look into their eyes, no jewel is as beautiful as a dragon’s eye,” she said, while stroking the head of the elder female, Jia li, a Fucanglong dragon. The senior male, Hui ying, as well as the second pair, Zhulong 朱龍& Chilong 赤龍] , were red “fire dragons” whose race had been destroyed in their home habitat by humans, wanted to spend the rest of their lives in their original homelands, guarding the sacred spaces that remained. 

Jeanne-Marie helped them put on the saddles and harness to hold the medical supplies they would deliver to the White Tiger camp for distribution among the Red Phoenixes, the Medical Corp, in charge of treating and evacuating casualties, using special portkeys to transport to the base hospital. Eli introduced her friends to the dragons, and gauging from the dragons’ reaction, made a few jokes at their expense. Frank and Alice hadn’t known that dragons can laugh. 

They got in the saddles and set off through the mists to the gateway on Torayama. They flew to the top of the mountain, to the army base there, to drop off the supplies, then flew down the mountain to the docks where the dragons met with the Azure Dragons. Eli, Severus, Alice and Frank went to the Inn and got changed into kimono. Many of the friends Frank had made while at school as an exchange student had arranged a series of parties for the newlyweds, so Alice was dressed in a wedding kimono, which weighed almost as much as she did. http://kyoto-weddings.jp/bridalkimono.html 

Eli and Severus left early, to soak in the hot springs at the Inn. Eli had to leave when the sun rose the next day. He would portkey to the school, ostensibly to consult with the potions master, but also to talk to Rhiannon. She had fit quite well into the school; her flying skills made her into a star. She was that rarest of Quiddich players, an all arounder who was effective at all of the positions. She was specializing in Healing Arts, a program they didn’t offer at Hogwarts. 

At dawn, Eli left with the other soldiers and dragons in the largest vessel in the Azure Dragon fleet. Severus tried to look confident, but he always felt abandoned when she left, worried about her safety. This mission in particular frightened everyone; the Terrans had been convinced by their daemonic overlords to bring in nuclear ground to ground missiles. In order to gain access to their chosen target, the sacred lake and the base on its shores, they would have to transport the missiles through the only pass. Destroying the entire invading force and sealing off the pass permanently was the best option, but the casualty rate would be high. 

The two younger dragons went to the mountaintops overlooking the pass and began to use their fire to melt the ice and snow, while the two older dragons swooped in to the daemons and their human slaves and unleashed their hottest flames. The humans flashed into death before they knew what was happening. The daemons lived long enough to know what hit them, as the dragons spiraled upward on the updraft their fires created. The weapons and ammunition melted, as did the missiles. There was no explosion, but there was a massive release of radiation, as a wall of water and melted ice rampaged down into the valley, washing away everything in its path. A brigade of Red Phoenix flew downhill from the torrent, using their psionic abilities to blast a message to all sentient creatures to get to high ground. 

The water was dammed by the ice avalanche the younger pair caused. The fissionable material sank to the bottom of the newly created lake, where Jia li and Hui ying trapped it under their bodies, They volunteered to go into a dormant stage, protecting the environment from radiation, and would not return to active life until the danger from the radioactivity was reduced to acceptable levels. The Vanir troops, both the Ice Bears and the Snow Wolves, set up evacuation camps for the displaced creatures, helping them to rebuild the damage and replenishing their supplies. 

There was a bright flash of white as an Ice Dragon flew down in a shimmering haze of ice crystals sparkling in the sunlight, and froze the water into a solid mass of ice with a blast. Ice Dragons are very rare, and rarely seen even by those who live in the Himalayan region, since they look, to the human eye, more like they were made of Lalique crystal, and usually fly “out of the sun” when they detect any life forms in their realms. 

The ice was perfectlytransparent. The two dragons at the bottom of the ice mass could be seen clearly. The walls of the valley not under the glacier were covered with a layer that lit up the valley in rainbows, from above, it looked like a giant cut crystal basin. Eli and the other Faerie and Vanir warriors set up apparatus to cover the valley in a permanent mist, to block the eyes of Terrans in and their invasive surveillance of the planet. They installed psychic barriers to induce a sense of fear and loathing so none would try to enter the danger zone. When the entire region had been cleared of creatures, Eli and the two War Druids set crystals in the mountain tops on the other side of the ice wall, invoked the power of the earth and mountain, causing a localized tremor that collapsed both of the tops of the mountains into boulders and rubble, creating an impassible wall. They were flown back to the base by the dragons, who were debriefed before they departed on their reconnaissance flights. 

The daemons had not been expecting dragons. They thought they had neutralized that threat when they learned how to control the minds of humans, gave them poisons, and spells, to use on suicide missions to destroy all dragonkind. The daemons would not face dragons if they could help it, so they used those creatures they could psychically hijack. They didn’t know how many dragons were smuggled into Faerie to save their species. Zhulong and Chilong were twin fledglings when they saw their parents and the other eggs destroyed. They didn’t hold it against the humans, knowing that their brains had been infected, and they wanted some payback on the daemons; it was personal. They were able to find the portal in the region that the daemons were using, so that the troops were able to set up a containment area and destroy them as they entered the realm. 

It was a short, savage fight. The Guardian forces waited until the wave of daemon soldiers had reached a critical point, then the Fire Dragons flew in and hit the portal with their hottest flames. The momentum of the daemons caused a crush when those at the portal realized that they were charging into incineration, and the troops behind them kept coming. Eli and the leader of the Vanir troops rode the dragons, shooting arrows into the mountainside above the portal that had explosive heads that would cause tremors and releasing a ward that blocked all lifeforms and psychic energy. The daemons who had gone through the portal realized they were doomed, and had nothing to lose, not that the Guardians ever took prisoners. Before they were all killed and cremated by Dragon Fire, they did considerable damage and the casualty rate was high. 

The video streams broadcast at the military bases on Torayama were detailed enough so that Severus could follow Eli, on the dragon, directing the battle from above. Yojimbo was part of an evac team, three horses in full battle gear pulling an antigravity chariot, large enough to carry horses and riders back to the waiting ships. The ravens overhead carried the video cameras, directing evac units to casualties. Battle Medics rode the horses and transferred the injured immediately into the holding stasis pods, then rushed to the ambulance ships and transferred to the hospital at the Azure Dragon base in Torayama Bay. Yojimbo joined one of the Medic teams with two other Faerie horses. Each was hitched separately to the curved front of the evac antigrav chariot, to allow them maximum reach to fight anyone or anything in their way. 

It took about 36 hours to round up and kill all of the daemons, the corpses were transferred without physical contact to the exit of the portal and dumped inside and incinerated by blasts of the hottest fire the dragons could produce. This softened the rock, and the entire side of the mountain began to slowly slide to the valley, covering the battlefield in rock and debris. The shamen put wards on the mountains, so that no Terran animal would venture near the blasted zone, only the dragons who became the sentries on the mountain tops. Eli went back to the base with the medical evac units, to their base at the lake in the mountains near temple that they were guarding. 

Eli and Yojimbo rode with the medical casualties on the junk to Torayama Harbor. They had 24 hour leave and were staying at the Inn.   
“So how have you been doing?” Eli asked him when she threw herself into the hotspring pool.   
“I’ve been working out a lot in the dojo, and reading Rhiannon’s charming letters about Regulus’s adventures. He’s come of age and now has his own income and he’s being pursued by some of the purebred girls, everyone thinks he’s gay and he’s encouraging that. But the Sapphic girls of the elite love that in a husband. Alice and Frank have a good idea of who is associating with Riddle, and many of the elites are relocating overseas ‘for the duration’ including the murderous Black matron herself!”   
“Is Regulus in contact with his brother at all?”  
“Sirius and Remus were spending time in Prague and now are staying with James and Lily,” he said, with an almost imperceptible wince. “For obvious reasons they aren’t in contact, Regulus has to keep deep undercover, and you know as well as I do that Sirius can’t always be trusted with secrets. Regulus communicates with Rhiannon, who writes up reports for Frank and Alice, it’s safer that way. Jeanne-Marie and the Crones are keeping me busy learning more mentalics, it’s safer not to know some things because Riddle is amazingly talented in mind control methods. The only one who Regulus can confide in is the house elf, Kreacher, who is as dedicated to Regulus as an elf can be. He knows how to misdirect, how to make sure he is never suspected by being as cruel and nasty as he can appear to be, it’s very effective, no one wants to get too close to that place on Grimmaud. Things are going about as well as can be expected, and you know, I’ve really missed you. I think we’ve soaked long enough, let’s get back to our room, okay?”


	9. The Dark Lord at Malfoy Manor

Riddle brought Pettigrew to his office, and sat behind his desk, looking with contempt at the cringing and groveling the man always did in his presence. He was a useful fool, no more.  
“Can we trust Snape? I thought you hadn’t gotten along with him in school.”

“Oh, I think so, he has reasons not to like Dumbledore’s little pets, he was chasing Potter’s whore for some time, I recall. Then the Faerie snagged him and made him rich,” Pettigrew said in his sniveling voice.

“What about the Faerie? Whose side is she on?”

“She didn’t like the same people, she went after them more than once. Only way to get her angry enough to fight was by going after Snape.”

“Is it true about those Faeries, how voracious they are, insatiable, I’ve heard,” Riddle said with a leer.

“I wouldn’t know, she kept her distance, but I heard about those Beltane parties, those Morgan women are legendary.”

“You mean you stayed out of range so she couldn’t get into your putrid little mind, Pettigrew. It’s a good thing you’re a useful idiot. Lucky for you my people covered up your disappearance, you’d never have pulled off such a move by yourself. It was a lot easier to get those fools in the Wizengamot to railroad your friend than I’d thought it would be. Albus’s spies weren’t very smart, to trust a deplorable like you.”

Riddle’s mouth turned up at the corners, as close as he could get to a smile. “But you’re not stupid enough to try betraying me, are you?” He reached out and stroked Pettigrew’s face. It was all he could do not to cringe as his master’s touch turned his flesh cold and sweaty, arousing him at the same time. “No, of course not, Riddle crooned, his face so close Pettigrew could feel his breath on the back of the neck, as Nagini wrapped her body around his legs. “No, my pet, you just ate, don’t be greedy.”

Pettigrew hoped his master didn’t notice the urine that spotted his trousers.

“Snakes do love to eat rodents, Pettigrew. Stay useful. I need my own spy at Hogwarts. You need to get one of the students to adopt you and stay in your animagus form. Find someone suitable, one of those Dudley Do-Rights in the Ministry, like Weaseley? He’s got a litter of brats, doesn’t he? And they are always Gryffindors. That’s your mission, Pettigrew. Don’t disappoint me.”

Riddle fondled the snake, wrapping her around his body, her tongue caressing his cheek, then left the room, apparating to some unknown location. He laughed about how perfect this mission was for the oathbreaker Pettigrew, whose only sexual activity was voyeurism. It would also get that unpleasant, obsequious parasite out of his presence.

Riddle didn’t trust most of his followers. He knew he owned them completely, but they just didn’t have much talent, or brains. He needed Snape. Malfoy had talent, had the right attitude, but his wife was a problem. She wasn’t as smart as she thought she was and interfered entirely too much. It took a lot of work to cover up her murder of Takeshi Morgan, done without her husband’s prior consent, but with his subsequent approval. He understood why Lucius kept her around. Crazy women were amazing in bed.

He knocked on Bellatrix’s door. She was waiting for him.

 

Severus and Regulus were riding with Nott on his estate one morning. He was explaining to Regulus the family tradition, that as the senior member of the family, he was THE Nott. The lesser Notts had to use their given names. Apparently it was an ancient tradition, dating back to Neolithic times, when the name originated, for the tribal shamen.

 

Riddle encouraged, in his unique fashion, elders of the wealthy families to relocate once he returned to Britain, unless they turned over their estates to him upon request. Nott let him have his City home, which he never used. He stayed with his horses on his estate. He’d recently been joined by a pair of Thestrals raising twin foals, and spent most of his time in the stables. He’d been working on upgrading the old castle, turning over the ground floor hall into riding arena, with crystal chandeliers, opening into a glass enclosed solarium and hanging gardens. He’d enlisted all of his young male relatives with Riddle, to let them fight it out to see who inherited when he died. He kept in touch with everyone he’d known in his school days, and his file on Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, was getting more interesting.

 

They dismounted at stream at the edge of the estate. Nott insisted on the highest level of privacy, even on his own property. It never hurt to be too safe, he explained. He told them that their presence was requested at Malfoy Manor, to meet Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, as he renamed himself.

“You might want to engineer an escape route, an excuse to leave suddenly, in case things start to get out of hand with him. In case his inamorata, the excreable but beautiful Bellatrix starts playing her party games. Narcissa is The Perfect Hostess, there will be some of the Ministry Minions in attendance, so let’s hope things are kept civil. Very formal at dinner, bring suitable clothing. No horses. Narcissa won’t have them around her. Lucius was a terrible rider, just didn’t get along with horses at all. Or any of the magical creatures, he took that course only one term.”

“So where is Mr le Strange?” Regulus asked with a leer.

Nott leered back. “Depending on the season, Monte Carlo, Venice, Amsterdam, any magical district out of the jurisdiction of the Ministry. He has his own interests, one in every city.”

“I understand that there are a lot of exiles, even more disappeared, from the Ministry, it’s rather difficult to keep it out of the papers.”

Nott looked across the stream that formed the border of his estate. ‘That’s the case, they’re running out of excuses, being replaced by those in thrall to Riddle. “Let’s get the horses back and get some breakfast and read the papers. I’ve got a subscription to the Torayama paper, with all the war reports. They’ve got the daemons on the run.”

Severus nodded. “And now reconstruction and rehabilitation, the daemons leave a lot of collateral damage. She’ll be back when the snow returns, by the equinox. Only the Ice Bears and Snow Wolves stay, to minimize the impact on the natives. They bring in enough rations for themselves and those in need, set up some transport keys as needed. The medics have time to bring everyone back to health as they rebuild their homes.”

“Have you ever been to the Vanir’s land?” Nott asked Severus.

“Yes, but only during the Midnight Sun, I don’t tolerate extreme cold well,” Severus replied.

 

They remounted and as they rode back, Nott said, “Riddle likes to get in your head, find what you love so he can use it against you. He is, and I speak advisedly, the most seductive of villains, guard yourself. Show no weakness.”

Rhiannon was listening to this conversation, feeling a sense of extreme distress. She knew what Riddle was. Conceived in desperation and deception, gestated in degradation and deprivation, abandoned at birth by a mother in extremis. The staff at the orphanage were unable to contain or control the heir of Slytherin, and the professors at Hogwarts were all seduced and suborned by him. A gifted wizard, with no conscience, no morals, no ethics, the ultimate psychopath. So terrified of the Death Crone he destroyed his soul, as if anyone could beat Her. She always triumphed. Without Death, there can be no Life.

 

Severus was grateful for the lessons in emotional control and occulumency the next weekend at Malfoy Manor. He was aware of his hostess’s involvement in Takeshi Morgan’s murder. He’d also heard a lot about Bellatrix’s after dinner party games. He and Regulus planned on leaving after meeting Riddle, both were the head of the household for financial matters. Business took priority over social, to this crowd.

The first day Riddle was in the study with Lucius and two Aurors. Narcissa was playing The Perfect Hostess, while Bellatrix stayed in her suite, working out new sex magic rituals to entertain her Lord Voldemort. Narcissa kept Bellatrix supplied with her favorite intoxicants, easier than trying to keep an eye on her in public.

Her mother had trained her well. A hostess should know her guests well enough to keep them occupied and entertained.

Riddle did not show up for dinner that night, nor did the Ministry people. Regulus chatted with the single girls, Beautbatons grads, whose families had estates in various parts of the Continent.

Severus and Regulus were fielding questions from the Beauxbatons girls about Jeanne-Marie, where she was an adored professor. The Durmstrang boys wanted to talk about Eli and the battles in Tibet, which Severus did not, and would not, discuss. He wrote to her every night when she was in the field, mostly about horses he’d ridden, music he’d listened to, with recordings for her so she could keep up with the new releases.

 

 

The next morning, Riddle summoned Severus, Regulus, and Lucius to the study he had appropriated in Malfoy Manor. They discussed Hogwarts, what the Daily Prophet said, and then Riddle dropped his bombshell.

“Did you ever wonder why you’re so different from your brother? Why your mother showed you such preference? It’s because you two had different fathers. I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out. You’re not really a Black after all, my dear young Regulus. House parties can get interesting, you see. I won’t tell you who your father is, I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. Dynastic marriages allow for some leeway, she’d done her duty and provided enough to carry on the line so the last baby was her choice. It wasn’t her fault every one of your siblings was, shall we say reality challenged and chemically imbalanced.”

Regulus’s face froze. He could believe it, he’d always known he was different from the rest of his clan. His alleged father ignored him, he’d been indulged by his mother, doated on by Kreacher. The only two people that the elf loved were Walpurga and her youngest son. Her banishment from Grimmaud Place changed Kreacher; only Regulus could coax a smile from him. Walpurga had her problems, she was an abusive mother to her elder son, until her conduct was so unseemly that the Family had her sent to a private sanitarium on the coast of Albania. Kreacher never cared for Sirius, who had been cruel in his pranks. Regulus understood, and tried to explain to Kreacher that Sirius attacked him in lieu of his mother. He could get away with causing pain to the house elf, but wouldn’t dare confront HER.

Kreacher, like all house elves, routinely hand delivered important documents to his master. He had never been to Malfoy Manor and wasn’t aware of how badly Malfoy treated elves. Riddle despised elves, never missing a chance to abuse them physically or with a malicious spell. Neither he nor Regulus anticipated the attack when Kreacher brought a contract that needed signing. Riddle idly flipped his wand, yanking the elf off his feet, and Malfoy swatted him with his walking stick.

“Get that wretched creature out of my house,” Malfoy drawled. “I can’t stand them in my study.”

Severus held him back with a hand spell Eli had taught him that would instantly calm down any sentient being. He touched the communication mirror Jeanne-Marie gave him, signaling distress.

Within three minutes, Jeanne-Marie appeared, as her animagus, with a Black Dragon [Xuanlong 玄龍, on  
On the perfectly manicured lawn of Malfoy Manor. She changed into her normal form, wearing a formal riding habit. She called out to Severus in Japanese, “Younger brother, I have business that needs to be attended immediately,” then waved her wand and a pile of fresh flowers, Avalon chocolates, and aqua vitae from the Ice Wolves, as a gift to the hostess, with her apology for interrupting her party. “I wanted my friend to get some exercise, it’s a beautiful day for flying.”

“Duty calls,” Severus said, bending over Narcissa’s hand and kissing it. “Thank you for your hospitality.

“Regulus, Kreacher, come along, Gringott’s wants those forms in by end of business.”

The dragon put her head down and allowed them to climb on what looked similar to a chaise lounge used as a saddle, made of black velvet. “Don’t worry, I’ll drive,” Jeanne-Marie said as they took to the air. She opened a saddle bag and handed Regulus a potion to give to Kreacher that would stop the pain from the injuries he’d gotten.

“He’s worse than we thought,” Jeanne-Marie said as they drove through the air, obliviated from the sight of Terrans. They landed at the Farm in front of the house, the dragon remaining to help patrol the boundaries. She could not be seen at night unless she wanted to be. She liked to curl up to sleep in the sun above the Convergence of the waters, in the mist above the falls. They got to the Gringotts branch office in Hogsmeade in plenty of time to get the documents handled and dispatched. Kreacher went back to Grimmaud Place with Regulus, after being tended to by the medics at the Farm for the blunt force trauma caused by Riddle’s kick. Jeanne-Marie and Kreacher talked Regulus out of his rage at Riddle, convincing him that his best course of action was to pretend brutality didn’t bother him.  
“He goes for what you love, he needs you to destroy whatever happiness and joy life gives you. You have to pretend indifference, you don’t want to give him any power over you. You must dissemble, you must equivocate, you must not let him see your true face, if you want to survive.”

 

Riddle was egomaniacal, but not crazy, and he did not dare challenge Jean-Marie, especially when she was with one of her dragons. One of the Beauxbaton girls, Rosa Rubea, whispered to Narcissa, then picked up a tray with roast duck. She hailed Jeanne-Marie, curtseyed to the dragon, offering her the ducks. “I remember how much you loved roast duck with blood oranges,” the girl said. She was at the party with her younger brother, who was in his senior year at Durmstrang. The dragon delicately ate the ducks, allowing the girl to stroke her neck, before lifting off with her passengers.  

The other guests, who had never met Jeanne-Marie, nor seen a dragon this closely, gathered with their host and hostess on the entry stairs. Riddle decided not to join them.

She was the only being who could control any creature. She was Fey, so leave her alone, she will not bother you. Message received. Accepted. He is the Faerie Toy Boy. Those fools honored their treaties and were officially neutral, would not interfere with him. Just don’t hurt their boy. Any of her dragons could destroy even what remained of Tom Riddle.

None of them had ever seen a dragon rider before. Most were jealous of the opportunity that Severus and Regulus had, to ride a dragon! With a Faerie witch so powerful, who was a Phoenix, an elemental goddess, it seemed to them. Lucius remembered the thrashing Eli had given him when she was a girl, still feeling shame after all this time. She was still in his head. Always.

Severus went back to the Farm, to his laboratory on the top of the house, to work on his extracurricular experiments. Two of the refugee elves were helping him, and they were the best of assistants. They never made mistakes, followed directions perfectly, only had to be shown how to do it once. They kept meticulous records, in perfect penmanship. They kept the place spotless, as well. He could see the main Hogwarts castle from the promenade deck around the roof. He and Eli met in the library room when he couldn’t get away from the premises, she could floo in from anywhere, in addition to being able to apparate from the astral plane.

He couldn’t wait for autumn when she would be put on call and be available to him as needed.

  
Frank and Alice were concerned about Severus. He spent a great deal of time watching the reports at the Naval Base. Gwydion and the rest of the clan sympathized with him and tried to get him to ease his vigilance; he was losing weight and lost interest in his alchemical projects. The professors at the College of Druids suggested he go to the healers since his fears for Eli’s safety were exaggerated; the only deaths were to Terrans, not any of the Fey nor the Vanir. The clan on Torayama and the Crones convinced Severus to go back to his regular routine; most of the time there was no action, no danger at all, and all Severus was doing was winding himself up. Sometimes he blamed her for leaving him, especially when he had to go deal with the Death Eaters, or making his reports to Frank and Alice. Seeing them together made him feel the loss of Eli, and Lily, he felt as deserted, as lonely and unloved as when he was a child.

Regulus and Rhiannon spoke to each other as often as they could. Both had noticed how sarcastic and defensive Severus had become recently, and realized he wasn’t coping well with the stresses he was under. Both of them knew how keenly he felt the loss of Eli’s presence, for they felt the same. Regulus dutifully escorted young women of his mother’s choosing as required, which allowed him to get a lot of information, all he had to do is encourage the girls to gossip. It also opened the doors to some of the estates of those who possessed information, books, tools and spells considered to be the darkest of them all. He learned of many things not taught at Hogwarts, including something called a horcrux. Malfoy Manor had a wide selection of “banned” books from magical districts all over the world. It was the perfect place to do research since none of the Malfoys had much interest in scholastic activities; they bought the books and hired others to do the reading if they thought it necessary.

Kreacher agreed he would never appear at Malfoy Manor.

Regulus was amazed at how no one at Hogwarts seemed to wonder about how those near Tom Riddle ended up dead or damaged. He agreed with Alice and her mother that the criminal investigation and prosecutions were laughable. Alice brought him books and essays from the Avalon law library about the philosophy of law and the true meaning of justice and righteousness. He found it very heavy going, and depressing, once he realized just how dysfunctional and counterproductive the Ministry was. No wonder Frank always looked so worried. He’d been promoted twice, to make it easier to watch him, he said.

  
What they didn’t understand was that Alice was the dangerous one. She had a knack for intrigue and learned many of the ways Eli had of hiding in plain sight, and used the sexism of the Riddle minions against them. She possessed an eidetic memory, could scan pages and absorb the content immediately. All she had to do was to look at any print, upside down, coded, whatever and she could “play it back” in her mind. She never told anyone of this except her mother, who had the same Gift.

Regulus made a habit of wearing the communication orb, at its smallest size, around his neck set in a Faerie metal net on a heavy gold chain. He wanted Rhiannon to see what he was going through, and loved her comments about the girls. He didn’t play favorites; he was equally nice to all of them. They all felt safe telling him things, since he never repeated them to anyone, not knowing that Rhiannon was taking notes and laughing her butt off.

 

The rumor began to spread he must be gay, since he never made a pass at anyone. With a mother like that, they said, no wonder, besides, no matter how cute Reggie is, would you want THAT for a mother in law? He was amused and relieved, since it took a lot of pressure off him

 

Severus decided to visit his grandparents, on family business. Might as well get some things settled and keep low for a while. There was trouble in the Balkans, again, started by Riddle when he was gathering up the unwanted and discarded, the exiles not wanted back. Grandfather was publishing his works in Rome, so was Charles University in Prague. Moira Prince was getting ready for the next season and wouldn’t have time to talk to him but he could deal with her secretary for the documents he wanted to keep with her.


	10. Chapter 10

Rosa was approached that evening by a boy all the girls were watching, _Ignatius Sugaar, the heir of a wealthy family based in Pyrenees, in what is calledEuskal Herria,( the Basque Territory), related to all of the purebred families somewhere in the tangled family trees, and asked her to dance. He had just graduated at the top of his class at Durmstrang. 

“That was impressive, speaking to a Dragon in her own language! And how did you know she liked roast duck with blood orange sauce?” he asked her as they waltzed near the open French doors, overlooking a formal garden. 

“I double majored, Healing Arts and Care of Magical Beings, so I took as many of Jeanne-Marie’s classes as I could. I want to go to Prague to continue my studies.”

“Draco told me that your family is considered to be a bit outside the Pale, since moving to Quebec.”

Rosa laughed. “Yes, apparently there was some sort of feud that started a few generations back, and my parents had enough of it, and just pulled up stakes. Took their money and their business, and are doing better than ever. I got sent to Beauxbaton’s so my French wouldn’t be so ‘barbaric,’ as Grandmama says.”

“I’m sure it’s fine, but it’s amazing you can speak Dragon!”

“Only enough to be polite. Jeanne-Marie, her sister and father speak Dragon, part of his mother’s heritage. That dragon was at school often, she’s quite friendly if you’ve been properly introduced, and likes good food. I got to ride her once myself!” 

“Did you ever meet her sister?” 

“Once, when she was visiting to help with the unicorn census.”

“I would love to meet her, she is considered to be a legend already, after her first battle in Tibet. Riding a dragon to destroy a nuclear bomb, and her horse, who kills any creature with ease, we saw some of the video coverage in my combat tactics class. The professor is in love with her . . . he was heartbroken when he found out she had a boyfriend, someone she met at Hogwarts.” 

“Oh, didn’t you know? Severus Snape is her boyfriend. You know, the tall one who left with Jeanne-Marie? The other one, Regulus Black, he’s just so sweet, but his family is a bit out there. And the girls all say he’s gay. What a waste,” Rosa sighed. “He’s so cute.” 

“Snape? She loves him? Must be more to him than I can see.” 

Rosa laughed. “He’s a fantastic dancer, was one of the best students in his class, I guess she is able to look beneath the surface. His manners are perfect, he dresses well, and who knows what hidden assets he has,” she said with a leer. 

He blushed. He’d been thinking the same thing.

 

Narcissa had to excuse herself as soon as Jeanne-Marie left. She had never seen such a beautiful woman. Even more desirable than her sister. Did that Faerie who rode the dragon know what she’d done? Now she knew where the Malfoys lived. Maybe she had been doing surveillance? How much did they know? Were the flowers and candies she gave them poisoned? She’d never told anyone, not even Lucius, of all she had done. She had her personal elf, Livinia, kill the actual shooter, a Muggleborn she knew, he was disposable, anyway, so were his Muggle collaborators. His fellow Unspeakables didn’t mind losing one of their less popular members. They made sure to keep enough proof of her malfeasance on hand, if the lady ever stopped her subsidies. 

Narcissa knocked back a large shot of fire whiskey, then purified her mouth. She touched her makeup wand to her face, refreshed her facial expression, straightened her clothing, and walked back to her guests smiling. 

The silver band was playing in the ballroom, Lucius was arranging the flowers Jeanne-Marie conjured for them, which he recognized as some of Cordelia Morgan’s best roses and orchids. He picked up a perfect blood red rose, and presented it to Narcissa, pinning in up in her chignon. She laughed in delight, in perfect character. What a pity she couldn’t be an actress, she could play any role she wished. 

Narcissa wore lace, the same color as the rose, over a floor length robe of gossamer black that revealed every curve of her body. She wore her engagement ring, an enormous ruby, and a triple band choker necklace of rubies and black pearls. Her nails were the same colors, her lips stained ruby, eyes made up in the geisha fashion in black and blood red. She and Lucius led the first dance, as Riddle looked on, seated on a throne like chair set on a platform. Bellatrix, dressed in a revealing black velvet robe, her wild hair pinned up and held in place by a tiara of black diamonds that sparkled wickedly in the candle light, sat on the platform at her lord and master’s feet. 

 

The women of the Black clan were the most beautiful of the “28” but they also demonstrated the worst traits, as far as personality disorders and pathological behavior. And there was another thing about the Blacks, they were breeding more ‘defectives.’ The percentage of ‘Squibs’ born into the families of the 28 was a subject never discussed in polite company. These ‘defectives’ were kept in various hidden locations, never invited to gatherings, and of course, not allowed to reproduce. These unfortunates lived in a twilight world, some ran away to live outside the wizarding world, but most learned to accept their fate. They were treated humanely, cared for by house elves, for the most part. Some families had other methods of eliminating the unwanted. 

That night, Regulus and Rhiannon talked on their orbs all night about what happened. Kreacher had been his friend since he was born, his mother’s favorite son, her last living child. 

Sirius, on the other hand, had been cruel to the house elf, because he couldn’t attack his mother. The elf could not fight back against the young master, the senior male child, the apostate, the ingrate, the Gryffindor. 

Sirius. He Who Must Not Be Mentioned In Polite Company.

Kreacher was aware of his mistress’s eccentricities and excess; he’d been in service of the Blacks for a long time. Their bloodlines were not as pure as they’d like everyone to believe, a common enough reality among the elites. As long as they were reasonably magical, from the right families, a Muggle in the woodpile was not all that bad. 

Just be discreet. 

He knew who Regulus’s father was, but was sworn to secrecy. He could never break that vow, unless She released him in writing. 

Kreacher was aware that Walpurga suffered from serious chemical imbalances in her brain chemistry. She did lose control quite often, almost killing Sirius on more than one occasion. Kreacher and his nurse never let the child out of their sight, never alone with his mother. His father’s hunting dogs loved the boy, and by age six he was able to communicate and control them. His father was rarely at home; his interests, business, political and pleasure, kept him traveling on the Continent and Australia and New Zealand. Sirius spent a lot of time running at the hunting lodge with the dogs and horses. 

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Sirius went to Hogwarts. Walpurga spent time with Regulus, in the town home. When she got the word Sirius was a Gryffindor, she was at first stunned, then turned it into a joke, ‘well, he didn’t get that from MY side.’ She liked life in The City, spent time going out with her cronies to the opera, the shows and cabarets of Nocturne Alley. 

Kreacher was glad to see him gone. Sirius was unbalanced, not as out of control as his cousin Bellatrix, but he had the same contrarian attitude, promiscuous conduct, mood swings, and occasional out of control rages. It wasn’t helped by his mother’s hostility, especially when she was under the influence of whatever substances she was using. 

She had her own outside interests, of course. There was a count who had offered her marriage, and she considered it. Her seer had told her that bad times were coming to English wizardry, in the form of that wretched half blood Tom Riddle, the one who went rogue and into hiding, messing with some of the most deplorable wizards. 

This lady was never wrong. Walpurga started the paperwork to detach herself from an inconvenient marriage. She adored the count’s estate, and preferred the social life on the Continent. She’d have to leave Kreacher behind, for Regulus, since the Count had his staff in place, and someone had to look out for the house. She had enough of her own money to do as she liked.


End file.
